


Fight For the Realms

by Buzzabelle, orphan_account



Series: Supernatural Entitiestuck Saga [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Homestuck AU, Multi, Supernatural Entitiestuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-01-18 13:10:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 18
Words: 56,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1429759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buzzabelle/pseuds/Buzzabelle, https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A boy by the name of John Egbert moves to a town called Maple Valley. There he befriends a group of kids his age. Unbeknownst to him, they are supernatural entities from the days of old.  A tyrant Lord from the medieval ages is trying to destroy the whole of reality. Join our ragtag group in an adventure unlike any other.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. John

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story my friend(therebelliousbandnerd.tumblr.com) and I have started to write together.

John Egbert, that’s my name. I’m a high school student, sixteen years of age. I just moved from my old home in Seattle. I didn’t know the reasons why, but all I knew was that I did. My Nanna is my legal guardian because my dad had died in a car accident, but I love her just as much. My great grandfather moved here to America many years ago from Ireland. My dad used to tell me stories about him when I was young, about how he singlehandedly took downTypheus, a grand monster that terrorized the ghosts. And about how he was a great wizard, I never truly believed the stories though. He told me that I was actually named after him, John Sassacre Egbert is my full name. (Sassacre is such a weird name.) Oh, and also I have this weird ability where I can see ghosts and have this weird blue aura form around my fists, but that isn't really that important. I think my Nanna can do it too but she hasn't told me yet, so I can't be too sure, sometimes I see the ghost of my dad, and sometimes these weird things I like to call Imps attack me. Lately they've been getting stronger, but hopefully they aren't in this town!

    I entered into the building that is dreaded by all teenagers across America. High school. I got my schedule, where my locker is and code, and a map. It was a large school; then again I have no sense of direction whatsoever. Heheh…

    Maple Valley, that was the name of the city. It is actually my first day to Skaia High! It’s tough, having such a dramatic change from homeschooling to public school.

    Um, appearances, right, let me paint you this picture. I’m tall and ‘lanky’ -as Jane would say-, I have buckteeth with braces. Along with that I have large square glasses, and red, untamable, hair. I usually wear a blue hoodie with an average tee shirt, jeans, and blue converse shoes.

    I walked down the halls of the school to find my locker. Maybe I could make some friends while I was at it! Oh how exciting that would be! Being home schooled i never had any friends, so this would be great. Or so I thought. What I didn’t know, though, was that I am the epitome of nerd, thus making me a large target for the bullies… Then again, I was homeschooled my whole life so I didn’t know the dangers of bullies.

    I opened my locker and put my stuff in, just when I thought everything was going well someone came up to me.  
"Hey nerd, new here?" The guy said, he looked like a typical jock.  
"Um, yeah, why?" I asked as I turned to face him.  
"Hey boys! Look! I found some fresh bait!" The jock called out  
"Wait did you just say-" before I could finish my sentence I was slammed into the ground.  
“Now you listen here newbie, don’t go to the lil’ boys room if you know what’s good for yourself. That’s our turf.” I nodded swiftly and struggled to find my glasses, and then I heard a crunch. Oh no… I picked up my crushed glasses and squinted to look at them. “Damn…”  
“Yo idiots! Hands off the fresh meat!” A voice said, wait, is someone seriously standing up for me? I couldn’t see what they looked like very well; I could tell it’s a girl though. The Jock lets go of me, I gently touched my eye and it stung a little. Great, it’s my first day here and I already have a black eye…  
"Chill Harley, we were just messing with him."  
"That didn’t feel like teasing…" I murmured.  
"Hey, who said you could talk, twerp?" He grabbed my shirt again and lifted me off the ground.  
"Excuse you! I said hands off the fresh meat! Now I want you to walk away like the scared little boys you actually are." The girl growled.  
"Okay, geez, c’mon boys, we’ve got somewhere better to be anyways." Oh thank god they’re gone.  
"I heard high schools were bad, but I didn’t know this bad…" I mumbled as I collected myself.  
The girl kneeled down and offered me her hand, “they’re horrible, even if you know how to escape the worst of it.” Okay, wow, her voice just changed dramatically.

    I took her hand and use it to pull myself up, “oh… Well thanks by the way.”  
"No problem. Jade Harley, by the way,” I can’t tell if she was frowning or smiling. Damn I need my glasses, “John Egbert, I just moved here from Seattle.” I smiled at her, then I put my glasses on but they’re too shattered. I sighed and opened up my locker about to put them in, but then the gir- Jade stopped me, “wait, you could use my glasses.”  
“Nah, it’s okay, I brought an extra pair just in case,” I pulled out the second pair.  
“Wait, I know someone who could fix your glasses for you!” She said.  
“Really? Okay, here,” I handed her my broken glasses, “well I better get to class. See you later Jade!” I waved to her and she said goodbye back. Well, here we go, first class, math. I hate math…

I spent most of my time in class getting pelted by spitwads and crumpled up paper, this sucks. School sucks. I miss being homeschooled. I started to doodle on my paper when something started to form next to me. I groaned, ugh not this again! ‘Young Heir we may need your help,’ the figure said.  
“Vagabond, now’s not the time. Can’t you see I’m busy?” I whispered to him.  
‘This is an urgent matter!’ He sounded agitated.  
“Yeah, well so is school, it’s not like I’m homeschooled anymore!”  
‘But-’  
“WV! Just hide in my backpack or something,” and then he vanished, good riddance.  
Just then a note was passed up to me.


	2. Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Lalonde explains her abnormal life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by Isabelle

Normal day? Normal family? Normal school? Normal house? No. In fact, my life is far from normal, but where to

start?

    My sister and I are thousands of years old, yet we look like normal adolescents… Well, for the most part. Roxanna, or Roxy as she usually screams at to me to remember, is a Valkyrie, which, for those who don’t know their Norse mythology, also happens to be warrior angels that choose who goes to Valhalla during a major battle. So sister with wings? Not even close to normal. Think it can’t get worse? Wrong.  
Her boyfriend, Dirk, is a vampire from Victorian London, and those two together are a handful. My two best friends, Jade and Dave, are the most abnormal people you would meet.

    I would have been up before now if I hadn’t had only an hour of sleep due to some interesting books. I sigh and sit up in bed. The lights spontaneously turn on, lighting up the somewhat organized and messy room. Bookshelves full of every kind of book imaginable cover every wall and a small desk with piles of papers on it sits in a corner away from bed. With a snap of my fingers, I’m out of my pajamas and into my school clothes (a black skirt, a purple button up, purple leggings, and a violet head band). I stand up and approach my door. I look in the mirror that’s attached to the door and my pale, twig-like figure and shoulder length blond hair stare back at me. Thanks to magic, I’m presentable in no amount of time.

    Jade is a werewolf, who actually doesn’t hate vampires as much as her species tends to. She never takes off that green baseball hat of hers for the fact that she has two very white and very furry wolf ears on top of her head. To only make matters less normal than even the average werewolf, is Dave Strider, her on and off boyfriend. Dave, like his twin brother, is a vampire, but unlike Dirk, he’s got a pair of curious fangs, which always makes for an unusual lunch.

    I have been stuck with them for a ranging value of 150 to 4000 years in a battered down old mansion that belonged to an ancient wizard named Colonel Sassacre. And I used to think that my “family” wasn’t normal, the creatures/people/ghosts that claim this place as their home are worse. There are so many of them too. They easily outmatch us.  
So introductions, check. Now that that’s done, I can explain how my not at all normal life became impossibly less normal.

    “Rose, come on! Get your butt up!” Roxy’s voice echoes through the dark chamber that is currently my room. I groan and roll over onto the three books that lay beside me. I roll back over and close my eyes. “Rose Lalonde, five minutes!” Roxy’s last final attempt to get me to wake up. She can not enter my room for the hundreds of magic traps set up to especially keep anyone and anything out.

    I’m downstairs by the front door of our large mansion in no time. Dirk stands with me, though we don’t say a thing; I’m okay with it though, I like the silence anyways. Roxy had just gone up the stairs to collect Dave and Jade, who are locked up together in Dave’s room as always. “Come on, you love puppies!” She snickers before flying down the stairs. Her off white wings catch the light and out of the corner of my eye I can see Dirk smiling. Jade and Dave are both out in no time. Dave’s blond hair is slicked back and his shades are on, of course. Jade has her green baseball cap thrown on top of her long, black, curly hair. She grins at me and her emerald green (almost jade green) eyes sparkle. Roxy tosses on her black leather jacket that she uses to hide her unusual yet pretty wings. And then we’re out the door for a very quiet walk to Skaia High School in the strange town of Maple Valley, for me anyways.  
They don’t do it on purpose, I know that for sure. They just have telepathic connections with each other. Dirk can read everyone’s minds, Dave can feel everyone’s emotions, and then they also have the strange telepathic connections with their romantic partner. As usual, I am left out of the loop. 

When we arrive at the school, we all go our separate ways. Dave to go feed on some cute high school girl, Jade to go be popular, Roxy and Dirk to go do who knows what together, and I to the library. There’s twenty minutes till the first bell rings and I am forced to go to my math class. I might as well get some more reading in.  
My eyes trace each word on the page of the book underneath my desk. A chill runs up my spine and I look up. The new boy is sitting in front of me, but what’s more noticeable is the ghost standing in front of him. I pretend to not have noticed until the ghost vanishes. I tear a piece of paper from my normal, hastily write a somehow neat and slanted note, and pass it up to him. Who knows? Maybe we can add another supernatural being to our list.


	3. John

I slowly open the neatly folded note to see what’s written inside. It’s written in cursive. What it reads? It reads 'Hello, I am Rose, I'm the girl sitting behind you.' 

I turn my head to look behind me, and sure enough, there was a girl sitting behind me. She has pale skin, ivory hair, and she is wearing dark lipstick. I face forward again quickly because I could practically /feel/ the teacher’s stare loom over my shoulders.

I pull out my blue ink pen and write sloppily, 'hi! i'm john!' I fold it up and pass it back to Rose. I got the note back and open it again, ‘Pleasure to meet you. Even if it is by just passing notes. If you don’t mind me asking, but what happened to your eye?’  
“bullies...’  
‘Ah, I see, you must have run into Peter. I believe you should go get it checked at the nurses office after this class.’  
‘oh yeah, i forgot about that nurses are a thing :P’   
We spend most of our class time passing notes back and forth. I nearly ran out of ink because of it! 

When class was over we went our separate ways. ‘Now… Nurses office… where’s that?’ I feel around in my pocket for the map but found nothing, “crap, it must’ve fallen out.” I walk around the halls, looking through all the doors, avoiding other students. Next thing I know, I end up in the library somehow. Okay, yeah, I’m… Really lost. I sigh in frustration and walk out of the library, maybe I can just wander to the nurses office. 

About maybe fifteen minutes of walking around I finally found it, the nurses office. It was a daring quest, I had to avoid traps and hazards and- oh, I’m up. I sort of have a feeling that someone’s following me though... Oh well! I'm sure it's nothing. The lady starts asking me questions about my health and whatnot. I answer all of them of course, I have nothing to hide. Except my weird ghosty powers. When I tell her what my blood type is I swear I hear a faint 'yes,' huh, must be my imagination

After my eye is put under a patch I leave the office, geez, eyepatches feel weird. Well it's better than walking around with a black eye showing all day. I make my way to my next class and I sit down in a chair, huh, the teacher didn't call me out for being late. That's a little suspicious.... Chills ran down my spine, someone's following. I can sense it, wait, sense it? I normally don't sense thing. Man, this has been strange... I decide to ignore it and continue to "take notes," (see those quotation marks? That means I really wasn't taking notes.)

It is now around lunchtime, I leave my class and look around, there is a lot of kids moving around, so I just kind of try and avoid the cloud. I'm not really used to this much people in one place, makes me sort of uncomfortable. I got the feeling I got earlier, the feeling like someone was following me still, I ignore it again, what is the odds of someone following me out of these thousands of kids anyways?   
I then spot Rose approaching me, I smile and wave at her. "Hey Rose!"   
"Hello, John," she smiles kindly to me and stands besides me, "would you be so kind to accompany me to lunch?"   
"Sure! I don't see why not," we then start for the cafeteria.

Rose points to a table and comments, "that is the table I normally sit at with my other companions."    
“You have other friends?” I ask. Wait… that probably sounded rude…  
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” She raises a brow.  
I shrug, “sorry, I’m not used to having more than one friend, you know what I mean?”  
She nods, “I understand.” She sits down at the table and I sit next to her. Whoa, wait, are those ghost animals?  
“The students normally call this table haunted. That’s why my friends and I are the only ones to sit at the table, really.”  
I can see why, “huh, doesn’t seem too ghosty. If it was I think the Ghostbusters would be here and busting them.”  
She laughs, wow her laugh sounds good… Wait, whoa, where did that thought come from? I’ve only known her for a few hours! If not less. Just then two kids walked over to the table and sat down, oh hey it’s Jade! And some other really pale boy.   
“Hi Rose! Oh and hey John!” Jade says.  
“Hello, Jade.” Rose greets.  
“Hi Jade!” I smile.  
Today is going to be awesome.


	4. Jade

I pull Dave’s hoodie closer around me. I’m burning in this thing, but apparently since it’s the first week of October, I’m supposed to act cold like a normal human. But seriously, lets face it; it’s not even that cold! ‘Is too.’ Dave’s is interrupting my thoughts as usual. Thank you, Davey. ‘You’re welcome.’ I can hear the smugness even in his thoughts, wow. ‘Hurtful.’

‘You’re welcome.’ I think in a mock smug voice, which yes, is possible.

I walk through the bustling halls. There’s a rumor going on that there’s a new kid and that he’s cute in a dorkish way. ‘Not Dave Strider cute.’

‘Aren’t you tearing innocent girls’ throats out?’

‘Whoa Harley, harsh. Besides, I’ve already found my victim. She’s got these hips and….’ I let him trail on and try my very best to ignore, but lets just face it. When you’re stuck with someone forever in your head, at least it’s the one you love. ‘Love you too.’ I can hear the smirk in his thoughts. What the heck. Anyways, back to ignoring him. He’s doing this to bug me anyways.

 

My right ear twitches underneath my hat. “Hey nerd, new here?” Definitely Peter’s voice. I can still hear him making fun of me when I first “transferred” here. I know that tone too well too.

“Um, yeah, why?” That’s a voice I’ve never heard before. The rumors must be true. There’s a new kid.

‘Know his blood type?’ Ignoring him.

“Hey boys! Look! I found some fresh bait!” Not good.

“Wait, did you just say-” the crashing noise that follows sends me running in the direction of the voices.

“Now you listen here newby, don’t go to the lil’ boys room if you know what’s good for yourself. That’s our turf.” There’s a small cracking noise, like glass being crushed.

I come onto the scene of a red head (‘He’s a red head?’ ‘Keep your fangs focused on your current meal. Jeez.’) on the floor, the skin around his eye is pink and there’s a pair of glasses broken, just out of his reach.

“Yo idiots! Hands off the fresh meat!” I practically growl at them. ‘Har, don’t kill anyone.’ Peter glances up at me and lets him go.

“Chill Harley, we were just messing with him.”

“That didn’t feel like teasing…” The kid murmured. He’s got guts. ‘You think they taste good?’

“Hey, who said you could talk, twerp?” Peter grabs his shirt again and lifts him off the ground.

“Excuse you! I said hands off the fresh meat! Now I want you to walk away like the scared little boys you actually are.” I growl yet again, glaring at Peter and his friends. This makes me so sick. Bullying the new kid just to get attention? Yeah right. ‘Jade, seriously. Don’t kill anyone.’

“Okay, geez, c’mon boys, we’ve got somewhere better to be anyways.” And they run off. Figures.

“I heard high schools were bad, but I didn’t know this bad…” I hear him mutter under his breath. Poor kid.

 

I offer him a kind smile along with my hand and kneel down next to him. “They’re horrible, even if you know how to escape the worst of it.” My voice sounds normal again, kind, soft, and only slightly high pitched. He takes it and pulls himself up. He’s stronger than he looks. ‘Harley, do me a favor. Can you smell what type his blood is?’ ‘Dave, you can’t smell blood types!’ He’s relentless and I know why. Red heads, which usually have type C blood, taste the best.

“Oh… Well thanks by the way.”

“No problem. Jade Harley, by the way,” I say, smiling at him.

“John Egbert, I just moved here from Seattle.” He replies, offering a smile and sliding his cracked glasses on. Another rumor true. He is cute in a dorky way. ‘But not Dave Strider cute, right?’ ‘Don’t you mean Dave Strider sexy?’ ‘Hell yes.’

He then sighs and opens his locker to put them in there. An idea pops into my head and I blurt out, “wait, you can use my glasses.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I brought an extra pair just in case.” He pulls another pair of glasses out. ‘Can’t Rose just, y’know, fix them?’ ‘Oh yeah! Huh!’

“Wait, I know someone who could fix your glasses for you!” I say with a grin. “Really? Okay, here,” he hands me his broken glasses and then adds, “well I better get to class. See you later Jade!” He waves.

“Bye John!” I say in my peppy voice and walking off in the direction of my first class, the high school student’s biggest fear, health class or better known as sex education. I have no clue why they have to go into detail about this kind of stuff. Maybe it’s the teacher’s cruel way of getting back at us through for all the years of throwing spitballs and disrespect towards them.

I play with the forest green band that’s tied to my finger. Surrounding it are other various colors of bands representing different things to remember. I don’t know why I tied this one on; I’ll never forget it anyways.

‘Hey Har? What’s up with the depressed thoughts over there? You’re in Sex Ed? Right? Shouldn’t you be thinking of all the memories that brings back?’ I crack a smile. ‘Yeah, see? Happy thoughts will make you smile.’ I roll my eyes. ‘Come on, lets get your mind off that subject.’

‘Well, um, how’s PE?’ I pull out a piece of paper and draw music staffs on it.

‘Oh, y’know, hanging out in the shade because I don’t have my sun block on me.’

‘I think it’s in my bag….’ I put my pencil down and check the front pocket. Yep, there it is, along with more multicolor bands.

‘Why the hell do you have my sun block? You don’t burn like I literally do.’

‘I don’t know. I forget.’

‘Damn, Har. Your memory is freaking terrible. Do you even remember that new kid’s name?’

‘Ummmmm, something with a J?’

‘John, John Egbert.’ I pull out a blue band, the same color as his sweatshirt -if I remember correctly- and tie it to my pinky. ‘There. Now I’ll remember.’ I can hear his smile in the next sentence of his thoughts. ‘Those bands are lifesavers.’

‘Yeah, I know! Jake gave me the idea…….’ ‘Jade, I’m really sorry about what happened.’ I guess we’re no longer avoiding the subject. My eyes find the perfect lines on the page and I just stare at them. I know he’s just trying to make it better, but it doesn’t help. It only makes me miss him more.

 

The bell rings and I slide my stuff into my bag. I get out of my seat and hurry to get out of that room. In the hallways, I’m met by the overwhelming sounds of high school students passing in the halls. I pull the hat on tighter as I curse this gift of superhearing. A red blur catches my eye, and my nostrils are filled with the metallic scent of blood. I scrunch up my nose. Curse all my super senses. At least, I know only one guy who smells that bad. ‘Ouch, at least, I’m not the one who smells like dog.’ Dave teases in my head. I roll my eyes. If anyone actually saw me, they would automatically think I’m insane.

‘I only smell like that to you.’ I reply, continuing down the halls towards my math class.

‘Yeah, okay. I still can’t believe Dirk smells better than me.’

‘Dirk spends a lot of time with Roxy and she smells like heaven.’

‘Everything about Roxy is like being in Heaven. She’s from heaven.’ I stifle a chuckle and shake my head. ‘You’re just jealous cause she won’t let you have a taste.’

‘Don’t make me more hungry.’

Four more classes later, the bell rings finally announcing lunch. I’m not sure why, but everyone just sounds so much louder and rowdier during lunch than during passing periods. I hear Roxy laugh in the ridiculously loud noise of high school students. I turn my attention to the voice in my head instead of the noise around me. ‘I’m freaking starving. Why didn’t I ask Harley ear-’

‘Ask me what?’

‘Oh, um, hey, didn’t notice you listening in.’

‘Dave, I’m stuck listening in.’

‘Oh yeah, huh. Well, um…..’

‘Your silence scares me. Just tell me already!’

‘Har, I’ve got to focus. I’ll think to ya later.’ Okay, that’s weird. I try to continue listening in, but someone interrupts me.

“Pssssst, Jade!” Roxy whispers in my ear. I jump.

“Roxy! Hi.” Oh my god!

“So I hear you saved the new kid from Peter and his gang.” She says, raising an eyebrow. 

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess you could say that.” I shrug. It was really no big deal. I was just doing what I thought was right. 

“So was he really as cute as they say?” Roxy asks eagerly. 

“I guess? I don’t know?” Roxy looks over her shoulder and then whispers, “Is he a red head?” I nod, and she sighs. 

“Dirk and Dave are going to go crazy.” I catch sight of a red blur crossing the halls using the shadows. Thank you, super-sensitive senses. “Rox, the bell’s about to ring.” 

“What? Oh shit. Talk to you later, Jade!” Roxy runs off in the opposite direction. While we’re all juniors and have the same lunch, Roxy and Dirk are both seniors and have lunch next period. I guess it’s a good thing since it gives us more chances to spot anything going on. 

 

I look to the spot where I saw the red blur last and take off running through the halls. The bell rings and people start to disperse into the surrounding classrooms, making it a lot easier to maneuver the halls. My feet slap against the floor as I sniff at the air. My curiosity about what Dave is doing at this moment is way too big for me to leave him alone. 

 

I finally spot him and slow down. I look around. What is he doing? And then I see John and everything makes sense. Rose walks up to John and shoots me a look. I nod and run forward only to tackle Dave.

 

“Jade!” He gasps as I pin him to the ground. I look up to see Rose taking John away. Way to go, Lalonde. “What the hell, Jade! I was this close!” He says, trying to push me off as gently as he can. Yeah, I’m not a rag doll, sweetheart. You actually have to try to get me off. “Dave, you can’t just feed on the students here! Especially when that particular is the new kid and people are actually going to notice if he goes missing.” 

He sighs. “Fine. It’s just…. that I’m starving.” 

“What? I thought you ate this morning?” 

“Nah, that was just me messing with you. And if you were actually listening, you would have heard how many times I thought imaginary.” 

“Oh….. So what was it you were going to ask earlier?” He sits up, pushing me off him. I sit up and frown. 

“Sorry. Um, would you.. uh… mind if I take a bite?” I roll my eyes and move my hair to the side to expose my neck. 

“Go ahead.” He glances around to make sure the halls are clear, which they are, and scoots forward. I can hear his fangs elongate as he sinks them into my neck.

 

Five minutes later, I walk dizzily towards our table, most of my weight on Dave. Thank you side effect of blood loss. John’s there with Rose and I can hear Dave mentally complaining about it. 

 

We sit down and Dave’s still complaining. ‘Why is he sitting with us? Is Rose seriously trying to torture me?’ I mentally shush him and say out loud, 

“Hi Rose! Oh, and hi John!” 

“Hello Jade.” Rose greets back. 

“Hi Jade!” John says. ‘Seriously? No acknowledgement?’ Right then, I could just tell. Today is going to be a long day.


	5. Ambiguous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashbacks are taken place.

_A loud slam rang through the mansion, a large book was shut, “1,000,567th page done! I think it’s time for a break,” a humanoid figure stood from its spot at its desk and turned around to face another person._

  
_“Ah, Rose! Just the person I was looking for!” The man smiled widely at his apprentice and picked up a rolled up paper, “can you send this to Cleraph the Wise for me?”_

  
_She raises a brow as he sets it in her hands, “but, you can easily teleport this letter to him yourself, can you not?”_

_  
“Of course I can! But this is part of your training, if you want to be a good witch you are going to have to learn how to teleport things.” The man sits down in his chair again, “one day you won’t have my guidance and will have to do things by yourself.”_

_  
“Don’t say that, John, you have years ahead of you just like I,” she retorts looking to him._

_  
The man -John- looks off to the side with a bland expression, then looks back to her with a smile, “yes, of course i do! I’m just saying, if I ever do disappear off the face of the earth. Heheh.” He rubs the back of his neck, then bends down to grab two things. “Alright, now that you know the essentials, here they are. The_ **Thorns of Oglogoth** _.” He then grabs the letter from her and sets it aside, then he hands her the needle wands._

_  
Rose smiles and looks down at them, she felt the power surge through her once they were put into her hands, “thank you for everything, John.” She hugged him tightly then let go._

_  
The master wizard then looked into her eyes, “but be careful, wielding these wands will come with a cost. Under any circumstances, do_ not _listen to the quiet whispers emitting from them. And never,_ ever _, look into a crystal ball with them nearby. Okay?”_

_  
“I will keep that in mind,” the apprentice nodded solemnly._

  
  
    The pupil approached her teacher, “are you doing alright?”

_  
The teacher turned to look at her and blinked, “yeah, sorry, it’s just…”_

_  
Rose raises a brow, “just…?”_

_  
“Its just the petty mortals, running around like they own the place, killing anything that’s new or different from them,” he scoffs as he stares out the window to the mansion that now has several houses surrounding it. “It used to be peaceful in my day. Before everything spiraled our of control.”_

_  
Rose sits down next to her longtime friend. “Well, I’m sure that the human race just needs ti-”_

_  
“Time? Hahahah, you crack me up Rose, they’ve had centuries.” He looks away from out the window and back down at the book he is finishing writing._

_  
“John, what’s wrong? All you do now days is toil in your workshop. What happened to welcoming all the new humans settling here?”_

_  
“Expansion happened! Don’t you see it? It’s happening all again, it’s like the Manifest Destiny! And this time us… freaks of nature are like the indians!”_

_  
“Just breath, breathing he-”_

_  
“I am breathing!” He yells._

_  
Rose is taken aback, ‘_ John never yells. ’

  
_His expression then softens once he realizes what he just did, “Rose- wait I’m-”_

  
_“Goodbye, John, I’ll be back when you’ve calmed down,” and she walks down._

  
_The wizard lets his head drop into his hands, “I am such an idiot.”_

  
  
_"A rose for the lovely Rose,” he smirks._

  
_Rose just raises a brow in question, “what is the special occasion? Did I miss an anniversary?”_

  
_“No- I… I just want to apologize from earlier yesterday.”_

  
_She brushes the rose aside, “thank you, but no thank you. John, we need to talk.”_

  
_He sits down next to her, “what about?”_

  
_“You’ve been more insensitive than ever before and more… irritable. And just… not you.”_

  
_“What do you mean? I’m perfectly fine! See, same ol’ John Sassacre!”_

  
_“But you’re not my John… It’s over between us, as much as I hate to say.” She says coldly._

  
_Sassacre looks down and nods, “I understand… You were done with training anyways.”_

  
_And with that. She leaves._

 

_A years later Rose gets a letter, an invitation, to a wedding. “It looks like he’s doing fine without me,” she sighs._

 

_After several years she received word, an invitation, to a funeral. The wizard she once called teacher, friend, or even loved one, had been assassinated by an agent of Lord English. “That old crazy man, I tried to warn him…” She cried._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest this is really a filler. I've been trapped in the claws of school. So here is the long anticipated 5th chapter.


	6. Roxy

Everything’s dark, where am I?  
I stumble around in this pitch black area until I bump into a wall that causes me to fall back onto my ass. The lights flicker on and the sudden brightness hurts my eyes. I would have rather stayed in the darkness of the void than have been tossed into this infernal light like I was.  
“Roxanna, you cannot continue with this.”  
My eyes finally adjust and I gasp at the sight in front of me, gold ichor and red blood splattered over everything and anything in a small, metal chamber, much like a bird cage……  
I stand up, a fear and braveness colliding that causes my whole body to shake. And then I realize that a cold breeze coming from somewhere in the room is also a factor in this equation (Rose would have liked that thought), and I wrap my thick, frosty gray wings around me. There are several patches in the soft feathers as if they’ve been slowly falling out…….. Or torn out violently.  
“Oh, but I can, and I will!” I boldly yell out into the darkness. I do not recognize this voice though after all these years, I’m absolutely certain that it’s mine. It’s bolder, brasher, mean, tough, and way more certain than how I could ever sound. It’s my warrior self, the part of me that I only discovered long ago when I first became a Valkyrie.  
“You have confidence in yourself, but what about your friends?” I don’t miss a beat. “My FRIENDS are way more capable than what you would ever give them credit for!” I yell out into the darkness. Sure, they may be weird and young and very inexperienced, but their talent is greater than any hero’s that I have ever seen. “How can you be so sure? When they’re all dead!” I blink and that’s all the time it takes for the floor to disappear beneath me. I instinctively flap my wings, but they’re gone. My beautiful, fluffy wings are no longer perfectly perched on my back. I claw the air and flail out my legs, anything to use as air resistance, but I’m just falling.  
Falling down.  
Falling deeper.  
Falling back into the void I wish to forever escape.  
Falling back into hell.  
Maybe this is where most nightmares end, when you’re falling to your doom and there’s no way out, no escape, but not mine. Never mine.  
I scream at the top of lungs, that warrior inside of me gone. Instead, it’s replaced with my true self, the sixteen year old that I have forever been, the sixteen year old that I should have grown up from, but never did.  
And then I hit the ground, hard. In most dreams, you shouldn’t be able to feel pain, but no ones had a dream quite like me.  
I scream and lay splintered on the ground, my own golden ichor turning into a puddle beneath me. And then I hear something that brings me pushing myself up to my feet, despite every broken bone in my body, despite my every feeling to just lay down and die.  
A girl’s voice from long ago, one that sent me on this long adventure in the first place. “Roxanna, please…”  
Rose.  
There’s fire all around me, in a giant red circle, just like that day long ago. I take a deep breath and run, run straight through the ring of fire that burns my skin and leaves the smell of burnt flesh. I emerge from the ring into a cage, this one definitely a bird cage. Why must they hunt Valkyries and then mock me for it?  
Although I should have been dead long ago, this is hell, and you cannot die when this place is your eternal punishment.  
The sight in front of me makes me wish that I can though. My friends all around me. Dying in some horrible way.  
Rosé, tied to a stake and burning to her death. The witch hunts long before the Salem Witch Trials, the ones I tried to save her from.  
Jade, bound to the floor by silver chains with a silver knife sticking out of her stomach.  
Dave, who wrapped his arms around her, looks perfectly fine, except for the stake sticking out of his back, straight through the heart.  
Jake, who’s still in wolf form, is laying flat on the ground his front paws pressed hard against his snout with a thick suffocating cloud of darkness all around him.  
Jane, who’s leaning against Jake’s furry torso, gasps for air, but the cloud is suffocating her as well.  
That’s everyone, but one, and I’m afraid to ask what’s happened to him, but it’s too late. A mirror forms in front of me, but it doesn’t show my reflection. Instead, it shows Dirk with several stakes sticking out from all of his body leaning against the wall. He can’t move, because of them. He can’t talk; there’s one in his throat. And I can’t help him.  
“You see, Roxanna? You can’t accomplish this. You can’t beat me. And best of all, your friends will pay the price.”  
I slowly open my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light in my bedroom. The first thing I notice is the empty space next to me; Dirk’s gone off hunting. Sometimes I wish he could drink my blood instead of having to feast on others (with their permission, of course).  
I sigh and look at my neon pink alarm clock. 4:13. Funtastic.  
I could lay back down and try to sleep, but those dreams are only certain to be laden in similar nightmares, so I place my feet on the ice cold floor and stand up. I quickly search my mind for any foreign thoughts, no luck. He must be out of the 500 mile connection limit. I wish I could get static or something to fill the empty space in my thoughts where he and his mind reading abilities always reside, but no, only a void in both my head and my heart until he comes back. Might as well do something.  
I cross the room, leaving my bed unmade and pillows on the floor (I subconsciously pushed them off the bed?). I slide out onto the weird staircase landing and look around. No ones door is open, meaning no one wants unexpected visitors. I sigh. Jades snoring really loudly, but that noise is the only hint that someone’s home.  
I spread my wings, grateful to find that they’re still there, and take off into the air. The main hall that leads to the open staircase has a very high and wide ceiling, thank god for that.  
So what do you do when you’re in high school and you’ve got time to spare? You watch TV, of course. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.  
I fly up to the ceiling and then I plummet down, adrenaline pumping. The staircase starts on two sides of the room and meets somewhere above the floor and a wide old fashioned door. I zip through that, out into another hallway that has a wide arch in it that leads to our own somewhat personal forest and lake. I land in the grass and continue on my feet, past the lake.  
I can see Sollux, a doublegänger (a ghost that can mimic any surronding object or background) and Karkat the water nymph (no wonder he’s so grumpy having to be stuck with Eridan and Cronus and Feferi and Meenah AND Kankri 24/7) chilling out on a rock fighting over something. Feferi is out sunbathing, though I know she’s really just there to spy on Sollux. Terezi’s perched on the water’s edge, her dragon scales glistening off her shiny teal wings. Drakania always have this beautiful thing about them, I mean, dragon wings on a human? Wow. Next to her sits Vriska, a fairy like no other (but then again Aranea’s one of a kind too) with these midnight blue butterfly wings that reflect the light just as pretty as Terezi’s. I can see Tavros sticking his head out from behind a tree. Probably spying on Vriska though he has no guts to talk to her. I can hear Nepeta’s yells of joy as she clings to Equius’s back as his hooves pound the forest floor nearby. Sometimes I wish I knew how it would feel to ride a centaur, but then again, never mind. Eridan chirps at me from the water when he spots me crossing through our weird little forest petting zoo. His purple scales catch the light at weird angles, causing them to shine like gems. “Hey, Roxy,  
Wvhat are you doing this fine morning?” His accent’s weird too. Everything about this is weird. “About to flip you off. Oh, look there-” and then Gamzee, our cute little drug addict Satyr, comes doing that run of his out of the forest and to the water. And sure enough Kanaya, our Empousai, is chasing after him, her chainsaw in hand. “Run, Gamzee!” Karkat’s shout comes. “I thought you didn’t care if he got thlaughtered.” Sollux comments, watching the two’s antics. Feferi disperses into thin air before they run her over and forms from the water right next to Eridan. “Hey babe.” Cronus’s voice comes. “Oh, frick.” Karkat’s voice, definitely Karkat. Eridan just shrinks back into the water at the arrival of his older brother. I chuckle. These guys are entertaining, maybe even better than television, but not video games, never video games.  
“Hey doll.” His automatic smooth greeting to me. “Hi Cronus.” I reply. Meenah pops her head out of the water, yells, “Yo Strider! Run away whale you still can,” and disappears just as quickly. Cronus pouts in reply. “But Meenah, she ain’t even married to that bloodsucker.” I just chuckle and shake my head. “Yet.” I correct him. “Damn it.” And then Cronus’s purple streaked gray tail splashes into the water as he dives deep into that abyss. I don’t even know how deep this weird lake thingy is. “So you’re engaged? Finally?” Feferi asks in her tone that could knock out an Ampora with only a word, and has. “No, not really. Anything to get that guy away.” I reply with a smile. “What the hell are you two waiting for?” Vriska speaks up. I’ve stopped in my tracks by then and sigh. “Maybe for him to propose.” Sollux rolls his eyes. Seriously, this is how I choose to spend my mornings. “That dumbass.” Karkat participates in our little gossip group. I watch Gamzee jump into the water to avoid Kanaya. She stops, sighs, and says simply to me, “Do not let it get you down. He’ll propose when he is ready.” I smile and sit at the water’s edge with my legs in the freezing cold water. I feel Cronus brush against my leg and ignore him. “So what about you guys, huh? Any admirers or weddings that I have to crash?” I get silence from them all. I nod. Okay then, that’s always a touchy topic. But then Sollux speaks up, “It would be great if you’d let AA out of her prithon of a lamp thometime.”  
For the rest of the morning, I sit there, chatting with my weird friends that I love so much (and hate at the same time, its a complicated relationship) and then I hear a little noise in the back of my head. ‘Rox?’ I grin. ‘There you are.’ ‘Sorry about that.’ ‘Its okay, you get hungry. It’s a fact of life, well, afterlife.’ I get an elbow in the arm from Feferi. “Earth to little Roxy.” Karkat shakes his head. “She’s talking to that god awful bloodsucker.” “You’re only jealous because I actually got the girl of my dreams while yours sits feet away, still freaking single.” Dirk says, suddenly leaning on the rock next to him. Oh, hey, I almost forgot about his super speed. ‘Yeah right. Like you could forget anything about a Strider.’  
Karkat jumps three inches into the air. For some reason, those two have always bickered, despite Dirk’s tendency to get along well with others. ‘You make me sound like a god damn child.’ I chuckle under my breath and he walks over to take Feferi’s spot after she disperses into the air again.  
“Hey.” I smile at him when he sits down, cross legged so his feet don’t touch the water. “Hey you, long time no sea.” He jokes. “Leaving me shipwrecked in my room.” I joke with him. “Well, not anymore, my little wanderer.” He wraps his arm around my waist with this smile that he rarely wears……  
And I flinch, the image of him bleeding to death flashing in front of my eyes, and his too, thanks to his abilities and our connection. He sighs and tugs me out of the water and into his arms. “Oh, Roxy, I can’t ever leave you alone, can I?” I shrug, and blush slightly to his sudden embrace, especially with the whole group of spectators. He brushes the bangs out of my face and I blink. Seriously, hot as all hell, and he’s mine? Oh, but plot twist, those two pearly white fangs have found themselves out of his mouth at the smell of my blood. “Dirk,” I sing, almost chuckling at the rare sight of them. “You do not need a hangover during school hours.” He rolls his eyes behind his anime shades. “You do it all the time.” “Okay, Dirk, I really hate to say it, but you’re gonna have to put me down if you don’t control yourself.” Really, it’s too late cause he’s already pressed his lips to my throat and I know exactly where this is going. From his thoughts, I get the gist of it pretty quickly. He hadn’t gone hunting in two days because of my nightmares and he couldn’t stand the scent of the blood of gods laying right next to him all night last night, so he ran off, and still didn’t find a sufficient meal, which is actually why he lost control just this once.  
I mentally sigh and am about to accept it when Dave's voice totally interrupts Karkat’s gagging and the rest of the background noise. “Ew, gross. Go get a room, will you, bro?” Dirk’s powers are out of whack cause he’s freaking starving and we didn’t hear Strider #2 even spying on us.  
Dirk chuckles, though he’s mentally sighing. “Why? You never do with Jade.” At least, he’s removed his fangs from my throat. I really do not need Dirk drunk right now.  
I don’t need to see Dave’s face to know that he’s blushing either or even the glare hes giving Dirk or the fact that his fangs are out and it may be time for a Strider strife. I hear Jade faintly through Dirk. ‘What the hell are you guys doing at six in the morning?’ Her thoughts sound tired and faded, meaning she just woke up. Dirk shakes his head. “Sorry little bro, not today. Go play with your Lil’ pup.” ‘Seriously bro?’ Is Dave's thoughts. I look to Dirk and he smiles at me before we both flip Dave off at the same time. He snickers and walks out.  
I run up the stairs, pounding on Rose’s door which I have been doing since an hour ago and she never sleeps this much. “Rose! Come on! Get your butt up!” I lean my forehead on the door when I hear some shuffling in her room. A smile of victory begins to threaten its way to my lips when Dirk’s thoughts echo in my head. ‘Shes still not up.’ Okay, that’s it. Last time. “Rose Lalonde. Five minutes.” ‘At least you tried.’ I just shake my head and begin my descent down the stairs to Jade and Dave’s room (really, it’s Dave’s, but Jade hates her room so she’s always in his room and no one blames her for it either). Rose runs down the stairs pass me and I smile at the fact she’s up. Victory. ‘Finally.’ ‘Shut your fangs, Dirk.’  
In no time at all, were all down in the huge entry hall and out the door in a matter of minutes. ‘Hey Rolal.’ ‘Yeah?’ ‘Your sis is-’ and then he’s so interrupted by one emotion reader Dave strider, even though Dave wasn’t even sure he was interrupting. ‘Rose is lonely. I kind of feel bad for her.’ Jades voice next. ‘Yeah, I know…… I couldn’t even imagine how it would be like to be stuck for eternity without anyone.’ Dirk adds his comment that only I could hear. ‘She had Sassacre.’  
The topic continued all the way to the school, Rose just silently walking along with us. Maybe we should have said something out loud, or actually talked to her for once, but for some reason, we never do, and when we try, she always blocks us out, like she doesn’t want to talk about anything with us, especially her feelings.  
‘Roxy and Dirk to go do who knows what with each other.’ That’s Roses thoughts on what we went to do after we got to the school, and no matter how much she thinks were up to, she’s wrong. Dirk’s just raiding the nurse’s office to see if she had any blood bags left because of the weird epidemic where half the student body was suddenly missing a pint or two of blood (long story that involves Lord English and mind control and two thirsty Striders, you get the gist). She did, in fact, have some and though it could never beat that golden blood of gods that runs through every Valkyries veins and vampires can literally get drunk off of, Dirk was satisfied (thank gosh, no drunk Striders for this girl). Okay, maybe Rose was right when she thought we were up to something.  
Schools boring. It always is. No matter how many times I think it, it just never gets better. I wish I could have a drink, or even be back at the lake with our misfit of myths. ‘Wow, school has literally bored one miss Lalonde to the point of absolute boredom and sacrifice. In fact, I think she may be sick, thinking of hanging out with those weirdos while we can totally just ditch class together.’ I roll my eyes while trying to stifle my laughter in class and kind of fail. The whole class is staring at me and I am so out of it that when the teacher asks me what’s so funny, I chuckle and reply like a god damn fricking idiot, “Science.” And that’s the reason why I got fricking detention and cause of who? Oh yeah, that’s right. ‘Damn, Lalonde. I can’t believe you’re pointing fingers at me when you’re the one who’s off her game this fine and almighty morning. What’s up with ya anyways?’ ‘Nothin’.’ I quickly mentally reply as if holding an actual conversation, other than this bullshit way of communicating all thanks to fucking fate and what not. ‘Fiesty’ is his mental comment when I have that stupid thought, but behind it, I can see right through those shades and his thoughts of his, almost like being in an ironic mansion and there’s this hallway spread out before you, each leading to another trail of Dirk’s thoughts. Basically, his thoughts and his brain is laid out before me as I can even hear the unconscious thoughts his brain is making like having his heart still faintly beat even though he’s fucking dead and doesn’t need it. ‘Harsh.’ Another comment, though from behind it, I can hear his worry, that thought of ‘what if she doesn’t love me as I do her’ or ‘what did I do this time’ or even ‘are those hella sweet puppets finally getting to her’. I wonder if he can hear the same for me, but I’m not entirely sure. If he can, he’s being the douche of an ironic Strider that he is and somehow not letting on to me, but whatever. I’m kind of stuck to this hot idiot, not like I mind, but I guess, if anyone really wanted to (like I fricking do), they could say that…… ‘Don’t you dare.’ I’m…… Hottiestuck. ‘Rox, do me a favor. Stop being the adorable dork you are and stab with a stake, will ya?’ I flinch at the thought of stakes. ‘That was so insensitive, Roxanna. I am so freak-’ ‘No big deal, it’s fine. Don’t get your fangs in your lip, Strider. And don’t call me Roxanna. No matter how hot it is.’ ‘I’m telling ya, Rox. You, me, a romantic trip to the beach. Just meet me up outside of the school.’ ‘Next period.’  
Net period comes and goes, and it’s lunch time for the youngsters, by the time Dirk finally steps out of the shadows and pulls me into them. “Look Lalonde, I need you to do me a favor before we totally ditch class like the total badasses we are.” I don’t even need to ask since I already know. This hot vamp wants me to go ask Harley about some rumors and some facts about the new kids, and right when I’m about to ask why he doesn’t just go read her thoughts or whatever for the info, another door magically opens up for me, and apparently, he was too busy sinking his fangs into some plastic bags to even pay attention to anyone’s thoughts, except mine of course. I smirk. “Depends.” “Rox, I will take you anywhere in this world.” He smirks back, and good reason too, his thoughts are too amusing for him. ‘And the sex will be out of this world, farther than Valhalla even.’ I laugh at his thoughts, and his smirk just broadens. “okay, okay, I’ll go check on Har. Know if she’s in a mood?” He shrugs and I silently bend his powers to listen in (not really, he just heard what I was thinking and listened in for me). ‘Ask me what?’ is her reply and I automatically know that we have interrupted one Jade Harley and Dave Strider mental conversation, which is always with these two. ‘Oh, um, hey, didn’t notice you listening in.’ Dave, you freaking idiot. Dirk chuckles at my thought, agreeing with me.

‘Dave, I’m stuck listening in.’ Duh.

‘Oh yeah, huh. Well, um…..’ Spit it out already.

‘Your silence scares me. Just tell me already!’ Thank you, Jade! Your frustration is mutual!

‘Har, I’ve got to focus. I’ll think to ya later.’ Strider #2, you freaking idiot.

"There she is." And with that, Dirk shoves my back out into the light of the hallway and I take this moment to sneak up on her. I whisper into her ear (though according to Dirk, I can’t whisper and I’m kind of really loud). "pssssssst, Jade." I can see her visibly jump, maybe’s Dirk’s right….. ‘Again.’ 

"Roxy! Hi." She breathes, obviously surprised. “So I hear you saved the new kid from Peter and his gang.” I say, raising my eyebrow and cutting to the chase. “Oh, um, yeah, I guess you could say that.” She shrug. ‘It was really no big deal. I was just doing what I thought was right.’ Modest Jade, as always. Except when she’s around Dave. Then, it’s interesting. “So was he really as cute as they say?” I ask as I hear Dirk both roll his eyes and get even more protective of me. “I guess? I don’t know?” She replies, obviously only having eyes for only Dave. ‘Smart girl. And by the way, Rox, would you hurry up? We kind of have to be out of here soon.’ I glance behind me, shooting him a quizzical look because we both know we can easily sneak out at any moment. When I look back, I try to drop my whisper to a lower volume, “Is he a red head?” I can hear Dirk mentally cursing at Dave and whatnot for jumping onto his back from behind and he quickly throws him off his back, which I quickly think ‘What he deserves, that’s my spot.’ jade nods to my reply and I can automatically hear Dirk perk up at that while I sigh in response. “Dirk and Dave are going to go crazy.” “Rox, the bell’s about to ring.” She reminds me, and I play along, since they’re not going to find out about our afternoon at the beach. “What? Oh shit. Talk to you later, Jade!” And then I run off in the direction of my class, but spinning around and running back when Jade’s out of sight, probably with Dave. Dirk pulls me into the shadows and up into his arms as he gives that well-known Strider smirk before running faster than I could ever fly and leaving the kiddos all alone at the school. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous.


	7. Dave

Dave Strider, coolkid extraordinaire, hell yeah. That’s me. What makes me even cooler is that I’m a hella rad vampire. And today I’m gonna have a feast with John Egbert. Like, literally feast on him, but then there’s the “Jade Factor.” She won’t let me take a sip, I mean, I’m starving. ‘ _Har. Harley. Jade. Har. I’m hungry,_ ’ I mentally think to her. ‘ _I’m trying to focus Dave! Not now!_ ’ Typical. I lurk through the shadows, stalking Egbert, he never noticed me anyway. Hahah. What a frickin’ parade. I look around to see if anyone’s watching, but right as I was going to make my move Rose decided to show her goddamn face. Stealing my prey again. Dammit Lalonde. I sigh, guess desperate times calls for desperate measures, I can’t _believe_ I have to steal from the nurse again, cold blood just isn’t the same.

           

After my blood fix I decide to go catch up with my girl, Jade Harley, ‘ _yo, Harley, where are you?_ ’  
’ _Being busy, can’t I get alone time at least once?_ ’  
’ _No._ ’  
’ _Figures, well I’m not gonna tell you where I am._ ’  
’ _Then what do I do?_ ’  
No answer, ‘ _Har. Har. Harley. Jade. Jade. Harley. If eating the flesh of someone bark trice._ ’  
’ _Augh! Go talk to the new kid or something. Or Rose! I mean she is sort of your sister?_ ’  
I internally sigh, ‘ _one, I don’t like Egbert, two, Rose is with him._ ’  
’ _Go talk to them anyways!_ ’  
’ _Augh, fine,_ ’ I concede, ‘ _but it was never my idea._ ’  
 _’Yeah yeah yeah._ ’  
And so I emerge from the shadows behind the two, Rose looks back at me and gives me a death look. Yep, she’s pissed, “ah, it’s nice of you to join us, David.”

”I was just leaving.” I step beside her.  
”It doesn’t appear that way,” she says, agitated.  
”What did I do?”  
Egbert looks at the two of us with wide eyes, that’s right, hope we’re gonna scare him away before _someone_ gets too attached. Rose sighs, “Dave, John, John, Dave, now can you leave?”  
”Nope. Har won’t let me leave.” I smirk, knowing full well what I’m doing. All the agitation. All of it.  
”Well it’s nice to meet you?” Egbert says, so far so good.  
”What’re you talkin’ about anyways? Dweeby stuff?”  
”Well I’m glad you asked,” I just walked right into her trap, “John and I were speaking about how-“

“You know what, nevermind. Forget I asked.”  
”Then why don’t you go hurry off and find something else to do.”  
”Nah,” I smile slyly.  
”I’m just going to leave you tw-“  
”Nope, you ain’t goin’ nowhere either, Egbert. ‘Sides. Heard you two have chemistry together,” I wiggle my eyebrows at Rose.  
She blushes a tad, “David Strider… Yes, and so do you.”  
Bingo, “guess that makes all of us, do us both a favor and don’t be distracted,” I wink.  
”Well do us both a favor and leave.”  
Egbert’s confused, “wait, I’m confused,” called it.  
”Don’t let David confuse you, though he acts like a tough cool guy,” oh hell no. Don’t you dare say it Lalonde, “he is just a giant nerd.” God dammit.  
”Frick you Lalonde,” I growl, then step back and wait for them to continue chattering away. I guess my only choice is to follow them. Who knows, I might get a taste of some good blood. ‘ _Ew, Dave no. And don’t remember what I told you?_ ’ I groan internally, ‘ _oh come on Har. Just one bite! That’s all I ask for._ ’ **** __  
’Nope!’ I can hear the smugness in her voice.  
I stop stalking behind the two and lean against some lockers. ‘ _okay mom._ ’  
I can tell she’s rolling her eyes at me as we speak, ‘ _so how are John and Rose getting along?_ ’  
’Too _well if you ask me._ ’  
’ _Well that’s good then!_ ’  
’ _Uhuh…_ ’

‘ _Do I hear a hint of jealousy?_ ’  
’ _No!_ ’

‘ _Is it because you’re used to having your sis to yourself?_ ’  
’ _Why would you think that?_ ’

‘’ _You’re kinda protective over her I noticed!_ ’’

I don’t reply. Nope, she ain’t gonna get anything out of me, and defiantly not the fact that I’m being an overprotective bro…. wait.

‘‘ _Hah, new it!_ ’’

I groan, ‘ _dammit Harley…_ _Hmm… That gives me an idea._ ’’  
’’ _Dave. No, don’t do it._ ’’  
’’ _I’m gonna do it, thanks Har._ ’’  
I stop leaning against the lockers and go to catch up with John and Rose.  


            Rose looked over to me and raises a brow, “what do you want now?”

“Oh it’s not me that wants you, Harley does.”  
She sighs, “Okay, well, bye John.” She waves.  
”Bye Rose!” He smiles.  
Rose gives me a look of, ‘ _don’t try anything funny_.’  
Once she’s out of sight I smirk, “so, Egbert was it?”  
”Yeah, well it’s John. But Egbert is my last name.”  
”Alright whatever, how’re ya doin’ in the world of public high school?”  
”I’m doing okay, why do you ask?”  
”Just curious, y’know, I’m considered the coolest kid there is here,”  
”I thought you were-“  
I cut him off before he finishes his sentence, “the coolest of cools, don’t listen to what Lalonde said. She’s just jealous.”  
He laughs quietly, I frown, “why’re you laughing?”  
”I don’t think anyone would be jealous of you.”  
”Rude.”  
”And besides! Why do you wear those goofy sunglasses?”  
”It’s ironic.”  
”How’s it ironic?”  
”Because it is,” this guy is good, I have to admit, but not as good as me, “is this some kind of snark contest? Man Lalonde rubbed off on you fast.”  
”What? No,” he laughs, “at least she knows what irony really is.”  
”No way dude, your guys’ definition of irony is fricked up. I’m just the only one who knows what it means.”  
”You’re weird.”  
”No, I’m the normal one here. It’s like. You all are aliens on planet Weird, and I’m a human amongst y’all.”  
”But… Wouldn’t that be normal for us and you’d be the weird one?”  
”… Shit. You got me, but to me you’re all considered weird. Like. You’re all cats, and I’m the dog.”  
”What do cats have to do with this?”  
”Cats are weird as frick.”  
”So are dogs!” He exclaims, but in a joking tone.  
”Dogs are the stuff dude.”  
”I dunno, they are easily trained. You sure you’re a dog?”  
”… No I’m done with you. I don’t need to deal with another sarcastic fricker.” I shake my head and run off, leaving Egbert behind. My internal clock that’s always ticking away ticks another minute and it’s time for class again. Which means the god-forsaken class called chemistry. I have a school year journey, to go where no students wish to go, and to seek new prey. This is the mission of the Starshi- I mean, student Dave Strider. Now cue ironic soundtrack.  
’ _… Dave, you might want to run, Rose is not happy about what you did. Also, are you making a parody of Star Trek?_ ’  
’ _Maybe… and crap._ ’  
And run I do.


	8. Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I declare WATER WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

Sure, having something equivalent to super powers sounds great and all, but let’s be honest here. It sucks to no end. Especially when you're not the only one with these so called powers, granted by a curse. And it sucks even more when you're stuck in a house of these creatures, and more than of a few of them happen to be complete douches. For example, we have glorious, full of himself, pimping, and ironically cool guy/vampire, Dave freaking Strider, who has spent the past school day torturing John, who we had just bade goodbye to due to him having to get home to his grandmother, and I, along with his constant victim who I do feel quite horrible for, Jade Harley. She's a great and amazing person, cursed with becoming a monster with the rising moonlight. I suppose there is always a dark side to even the brightest of things, especially people like Jade, especially people like Him.

However, I don't think there's a good side to Strider as he groans loudly and wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Where aaaaaaaaaare they?" "Get off unless you don't want to have cute little puppies in the future." I respond immediately with the classic Lalonde snark as Dave would say. He raises his eyebrows at that, that irritating smirk on his lips as he leans on me. "Who says Har-" "Dave, finish that sentence and I will personally chop them off myself." Jade interrupts from her fun little spot in the tree above us. He looks up with a slight frown. "But that's no fun." She just rolls her eyes and flips him off before going back to the thing in her hands, which I'm hoping is not another flower crown. Dave chuckles, no doubt about some short mental conversation going on in the love puppies' heads.

Dave lets go and leans against the trunk of the tree with his hands in his pockets. "So Rose, can't you use your freaky bi-witchy powers to locate them?" Them, as in Dirk and Roxanne, as in the oldest of our group appearance wise but probably the most immature. "Well, answer me this, can you sense their raging teenage hormones?" "Rosé, you should give them a break. They are forever 17 while we're 14." Jade says from above though Dave and I just ignore her. It is our siblings were talking about; they'd be this way no matter what age. "No, I can't sense their lovey dovey shit from anywhere in the school." Dave replies with a careless shrug. He's worried.

I sigh and search within the town’s limits for whatever supernatural presence I can find. There are several ghostly auras, an unknown one, and a couple of ones that send shivers down my spine, but no troublemaking Valkyrie or overpowered vampire. "No sign, they're not in town." I report. Dave sighs and looks down at the ground. I see jade wrap her legs around the branch and swing down to where she's hanging upside down from her knees with her shirt slightly sliding off her thin and definitely not fragile body, enough to show the world her belly button and part of her abs. She smiles at him and places, of course, a flower crown on his head. He looks up at her and just pushes her belly so she swings a little before flipping off the branch and landing on her feet on the ground. "We should head home. They probably just ran off without telling us again." Jade smiles reassuringly. Of course she's right. This has happened a number of times before, and nothing ever really happened. I don't know though, I still have an unsettling feeling this time. Then again, they're not here so there's no sense in wasting our time around here. Dave nods and jade starts running. I don't need to have telepathic powers to know Jade just challenged Dave to a race to keep his mind off of Roxy and Dirk. She's smart. And I'm yet again left out, but then again.......

 

     When Dave bursts through the front door, I'm leaning against the wall sipping Starbucks Coffee. His smirk immediately disappears. "I still won." "No, Strider. I believe I was the one who passed through the door first. Thus, I win." My immediate reply. Jade walks in behind him and is already laughing. "She's right, Dave. She wins. Though I hope you brought me something." Jade gives me those wide puppy dog eyes and I laugh. All while Strider continues his insistent frown, which doesn't work with the flower crown if you ask me. Kanaya doesn't agree either. "Dave, I do not believe you are as mad as your face suggests due to that beautiful white flower crown." She somehow snuck up on us with that clanky golden leg of hers. Jade smiles and reaches up that ten inch height difference to ruffle his hair. "I must thank you for the compliment of the flower crown." Jade says, imitating the polite and exact way Kanaya talks. I smile at that and with a glance at Dave, I can tell he's having a hard maintaining his frown.

   Kanaya pretends to not pick up on Jade's playful teasing. "You are indeed welcome.

   Three hours, a couple of magic pranks, and a dunking Dave into the lake pass and those two still aren't home. The petting zoo, as Roxy calls them, tries to keep us occupied and our minds off of the missing two by doing whatever. Currently, we're playing a little game of Water War. The name sounds simple enough, but it's a lot harder than that. The game pits us against each other, one on one with alliances possible. We use our powers to exploit the depths of the lake and to throw each other back on shore. Sounds easy enough? No. Not when this lake is a lot bigger than it seems and we have creatures that are designed to live in the water. Kanaya, Porrim, Sollux, Kankri, Equius, Horrus, Nepeta, Meulin, Kurloz, and Tavros are already sitting on the shore, waiting for the next arrival of a loser. Meanwhile, I keep an air bubble around me as I breathe deep under the water. I see something purple race pass me as a gleam of Dave's red swim trunks tell me he’s swimming quickly away from either Cronus or Eridan. Something's missing though, and I know what when I glimpse something green before it swims down and grabs the creature's tail from above. The creature slows down, revealing itself to be Eridan. Jade grins at him as she somehow keeps him in place. Dave appears by her side in a second. His supersonic speed is going to be a problem as always. I watch as the two grab him and pull him to shore against his struggling. But then, my bubble bursts, literally.

       Meenah has thrown her trident at me and while it dangerously zooms right past my ear, it definitely did not miss the bubble. I feel the sudden pressure of the water bearing down on me as I take in a mouthful of water. I spin around to see Meenah and her long black braids flowing in the water behind her. She smirks and pushes the water forward with her hands. I remember she can manipulate the waves just as more than one hundred pounds of water just barely misses me. One hit from that and I'd be carried off without a choice or an escape. It'd be game over. But I dodged it. I hold my breath as I swim up, desperate to get to the water's surface as fast as possible. Maybe I can ride one up. I stop and smile at her, trying to angle my position to where, when she manipulated the current again, I can ride it up and she’ll still think I’m back on shore. She sends the next one at me, going too steep to reach the shore. I let it take me to the surface and am forced to take a quick breath as Latula takes an aerial dive for me. Those with wings don’t have to be in the water; as long as they’re above water and not the solid ground, they’re still in. If they accidentally fly over the shore, oh well. There’s a barrier there to prevent anyone from crossing back to the water, which means if a strong wind happens, all air fliers are doomed. The barrier also prevents those on either side to use their powers on each other. Speaking of a strong wind, I can see from a few feet under water that Aranea and Vriska, who can’t dive into the water to escape the sudden increase of the wind unless they want to mess up their wings, are forced towards shore and the barrier. I see Terezi splashing down into the water twenty feet away and thank the stars that she’s blind. Aranea and Vriska are both shoved past the barrier when Terezi rises hesitantly back out of the water. I feel something move by my feet and look down to see a green sludge in the water, which must be Mituna. He’s always had a hard time perfectly duplicating things. I make a small bubble around him and have it gently float out of the water and back to shore. I raise my head just above the water to catch another breath, just to see Terezi coming extremely close to the barrier and diving suddenly upward, but Latula, who was on her tail and is a horrible flyer, didn’t turn quick enough and skidded right past the barrier.

“Get your grubby hands off me!” I look over to my right where Karkat is being dragged to shore by Dave…. But where’s Jade? I look down and see her staring up at me. Frick. I take the only escape: up. Levitation was already a tough spell to perform, but when you’re maintaining the barrier and a bubble containing Mituna, who is almost to shore and now in his regular ghost form with his black shaggy hair covering his eyes, it’s ten times worse. Somehow I manage though. While in the air, I can see Karkat tossed across the barrier like a skipping stone by Dave and Jade has started a little game of Tug of War with Cronus. As I watch Dave zoom back to help his little puppy, Feferi forms from the water next to me. Mituna could take tips from her, but she’s dissolving into water, not duplicating. She smiles and opens her mouth as I cover my ears and hum an Old Norse Lullaby that Roxy often sung to me. Rufioh pops his head out from the water in front of Feferi. Equius, who I can see trotting only as far as his hooves can touch the seafloor (it would be a wonder why he hasn’t been pulled onto shore, if it weren’t for him being incredibly strong), is looking straight at Feferi with a cloudy gaze. She’s got both of them under her control. Someone wraps an arm around my shoulder and I turn my head to see Aradia smiling at me. She used her magic to get inside of my bubble. No big deal though, I slowly edge my bubble towards the barrier with her side closer to it than mine. If I plan this just right and stop the bubble right before I touch the barrier, she should be stuck on the other side. The bubble breaks, however, about ten feet from the shore when Terezi glides right over us, barely catching the bubble with her claws as she runs into the barrier. Due to being blind, Karkat was probably using his weird blood blending to nudge Terezi to where she was supposed to be, but now that he can’t do that anymore, she doesn’t know where she’s going and has joined the losers. I sprawl out as I try to toss myself away from Aradia and succeed, sending her flying onto shore.

I take a deep breath and hug the shoreline as I watch the rest of the game continue. I’m so close, it’s seems as if I am on shore from a distance and when Dave shows his shades above water, I can see his smirk at me before diving down. He can probably feel how accomplished I feel right now and has realized I’m still in, but is pretending he hasn’t so he can catch me off guard. Smart, but not smart enough.

If it wasn’t for these unique powers each creature is born with no matter their species, this game would be extremely boring. I watch as a giant wave carrying Feferi and Damara, going way too fast to be natural, shoves them onto the sandy shore. I look around trying to find Meenah and realize that there are only four of us left. Dave, Jade, Meenah, and I. I leave the other three to deal with each other as I dive and start swimming as fast and deep as I can, keeping a small air bubble on my mouth. I feel the water currents fight against each other and shove in all different directions and look up to see Dave and Jade pulling her through the water too. Honestly, a wave to separate the two would work easily, but maybe Meenah is just being too stubborn to even think of that. Soon, it’s just the three of us. I slowly rise when I see Dave and Jade just standing in the water close to shore. They’re waiting for me.

     Dave moves as soon as he sees me and I’m ready. A rope ties his hands together as soon as he touches me. Jade watches, probably looking for the perfect opportunity to fling me onto shore. Dave’s good though. He jumps up and wraps his legs around my waist. He leans back, trying to throw me over his head. I’m not having that. I wrap my arms around his waist as tight as possible. You aren’t getting rid of me just yet. Something yanks us apart as I think that though and that something is Jade Harley. She swings her fist at me and I see a blur. I dodge Jade and round house kick Dave right as he approaches me. These two may be strong together, but I’m older and have so much more experience. Dave stumbles back as his eyes suddenly go wide. Jade freezes and looks from him to me. He races out of the water, tripping over his feet and stumbling before passing straight through the barrier. The petting zoo goes quiet and stares, probably as confused as I am. What would cause Dave to forfeit? Jade doesn’t stick around to answer my question, something must be wrong. I sprint after them, barely able to keep up. I don’t have the strength to teleport now, like I did earlier to win the race. I burst through the barrier as it shatters into thousands of tiny shimmers. Jade runs just through the hallway opening that leads back into the front part of the house. I follow, way behind. When I enter the room though, I wish I was quicker.

Dirk leans against the front door, beaten up. He’s covered in bruises and flaked with dried blood. Gold ichor drips down from his lips. His lips aren’t the only thing with my sister’s blood on them. Roxy lies in his arms, her eyes closed. Her clothes are tattered. Her once white wings are spotted red and gold. The closer I look and stand there in shock, the more I notice. Her right leg isn’t supposed to bend like that. She seems to be struggling to breathe and it seems that she’s clutching her ribcage. She’s unconscious from the loss of blood, but I fail to notice where exactly the pinpoint of her bleeding injury is due to all the blood.

Dave rushes forward just as Dirk starts to fall forward himself and snatches Roxy from out of his arms. Instead of letting himself fall forward, Dirk leans backward against the wall and slides to the ground. He scans the room for me, his goofy ironic anime shades nowhere to be seen so his blood orange eyes tear into me. His tears slightly trickle down his face. I’m not Dave Strider. I can’t sense emotion, but somehow, I just know he’s scared out of his mind.

Jade crouches down next to Dirk, wiping the tears and blood and grim from his face. Those two have always had the most confusing relationship, but now, as I watch her wrap her arm around his shoulders and ask him what happened, I realize they’re the best of friends, almost like siblings. As much as this shocks me, the two words that escape his mouth in reply to Jade’s question is a hurricane that stirs both my anger and my fear as it crashes into my ears, flooding my lungs and making it hard to breathe.

**“Lord English.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hi. It's Isabelle, I finally got an AO3 account. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, I was at camp and was also getting ready for school. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my little cliffhanger for the fact that I may or may not be able to write chapter ten soon since school starts tomorrow (save me). I apologize for this beforehand, and hope to maybe also take the time to learn how to write as Dirk so you guys can get his wonderful perspective on this. Any tips or anything would be greatly appreciated, along with any kuddos, bookmarks, comments, fanart, and whatever else you guys can think up. Thanks for reading our wacky AU!


	9. John

Home, finally, I sling off my backpack and flop down on the couch face first.

”Heir,” came a voice. Oh hell no, I grab a pillow and put it over my head. “Heir, please, this is urgent.”

”Go away,” I groan.

”You told me that I was supposed to tell you to do your homework when your grandmother is not home.”

”Homework can waaaaiiiit.”

”Besides that though,” oh god please no, “there’s been some trouble with the spirits, we need your help.” And there it is. I sigh and throw the pillow at his face, only for it to phase through him, “fine, what’s up?”

”There seems to be a lot more imps here in this town than in Seattle.”

”Well can’t someone else take care of it?”

”I’m afraid not, I decided to check some places, and a few imps are terrorizing some children near a mansion.”

I stand up, “alright, take me there.”

He starts for the door and I follow; he phases through the door like it’s nothing, I in return, roll my eyes and just open it. Before we take off, I go to the side of the house and grab my bike and helmet, once all set, I get on and ride down the street.

   The wind blows past my face as I ride downhill; I hear a muffled scream come from WV, I laugh loudly, enough for him to hear, “What’s wrong WV? Too much?”

”I’d very much appreciate if we didn’t ride bike!”

I smile widely, and then pause for a second, “Wait! Where exactly is the haunted mansion?”

”Turn left here!”

   I look and sure enough, there’s a corner, BUT IT IS COMING UP TOO FAST I CAN’T TURN IN TIME OH CRAP. I hit the brakes as hard as possible and it skids sideways. I can’t stop it fast enough and I crash into a tree, hearing a crunching sound in the process, probably my bike.

“Hey, boy that just crashed, you okay?” Comes a voice from above.

   I’m just kind of tangled up with the tree, my bike, and myself, I look up to see a girl on a branch of the tree. “Not,” I move my bike off me with huff, “particularly.” Wait, where’d WV go? The girl jumps down with ease and watches me untangle myself, "New here?"

I look to her after I brush myself off, "Yeah, kinda obvious?"

"Too obvious if you ask me, 'specially with those kind of clothes."

I look down at my shirt and pants, "What's wrong with Ghostbusters and jeans?"

"Ehhhhhhhh.... Everything."

"You're not very nice."

The girl shrugs, "You wouldn't be either if you were in my predicament."

I hold out my hand, "I'm John Egbert," I say with a smile.

She looks at it then looks at me, "Vri- Vicky Serket."

I put my hand down awkwardly, "Oh, uh, well I gotta get going! Wait, do you know where this big spooky looking house is?"

"Yeah, why? Wanna prove to your friends it's not haunted?"

"Uh, no, it's... complicated. Plus I don't even have to go inside it."

"I like complicated things," she insists.

"No, I mean, it's like. Private stuff, top secret." I say and get back on my bike.

"You're no fun," she sighs, "go up the street then on Scenery Drive it's on the left. Can't miss it."

"Thanks, later!" I wave and ride off, okay, that story about the turtle and rabbit, gotta remember it more often.

"She was wonderful wasn't she?" I groan to the sound of WV's voice. "I guess. Mayor, I thought I told you I'm not going to date anyone. I don't want to drag them into this mess!"

"Mhmmm."

"Why are you even looking for a girl for me?" I say in a disgusted tone.

"Is it not what your father would do?"

I sigh, "unless I asked him to, then no."

"Listen here, boy."

   I make a mocking motion with my hand. This bantering keeps going for quite some time until I stop in front of the giant mansion. Something about it makes me feel like I've been here before... Oh well, sure it's nothing. I park my bike, "So, mayor, where exactly are the imps?"

   Right when I need him the most he just happens to leave. Bluuhhh, this is stupid. I look around, "hello?" Wait, no, not supposed to say that. The idiot normally says that in horror films right before someone jumps out and murders them or something. Now I'm just making myself paranoid.

   "Yeah that's right punks, scram." Comes a voice, as 4 kids scramble out of the mansion. They run outside and almost away, but I stop one, "What happened?" The kid's face was as pale as the moon itself, "V-vampires, w-werewolf, m-monsters," he stammers then runs off.

   I furrow my brows and walk up to the mansion to look in through one of the windows, it's empty, not a soul- oh hey, wait there's a soul. He looks funny. Oh hey there's another, wow, this place is filled with lost souls. It's kinda making me sad... Wait, is that Dave? And Jade? ... And Rose? Things just got weird. I back up from the window and hop down the stairs to jump on my bike. Man, I need to figure out what's up sooner or later. Just... Not today, there's more important stuff. I set aside these thoughts and ride off. Maybe I can ask them tomorrow why they were there.

   Since I'm out, maybe I can explore this town, get myself familiar with it. I turn down some random corner and see a small market, a pranks and others shop, ooh, I remember when dad owned one. I smile at the memories then turn down another road, so there's the community park, man, that's a really nice park, I'll stop there to rest. I slow my bike and take in a deep breath. Today's been an okay day, though, what would make it better would be if there was a little action going on.

   Right after I think that I hear a rustling in the bushes and a low growl. Why did I have to think that action would make better. A dark, black beast jumps out and pounces on me, it's... fur(?) was smoky and hot. It bore its fangs at me, forest green eyes staring, they seemed almost empty, yet... It seemed to be scared? It opens its mouth wide and almost bites down, I move my arm up to block it from biting my face, so instead it bit my arm. I yelled out in pain and felt the energy go to my other arm as I moved it up to sock it in the snout. It let go off my hand and whimpered, "Yeah, that's what you get," it jumped off me and I quickly got up, clutching my bleeding arm. That was no imp, right then WV reappears finally, "That, my friend, is called a werewolf. don't worry though, he didn't use the bite that turns you into one as well."

"Gee, thanks for the reassurance, also, thanks for not helping me! How am I going to explain this black eye and a bleeding arm to Nanna?"

"Where's the other girl, she's nicer." I shake my head, he's babbling on about whatever the frick it is again.

"Don't just stand there babbling, help me! God, my arm is in pain!"

"Fine, fine, I'll go get help. I know some people who could help you."

 

   It takes a full hour until someone came, by that time I ripped off a part of my shirt and wrapped it around my arm. Feeling dizzy, I couldn't see properly who it was and I collapsed on their shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy frick this took way too long. School started and I was so caught up in that.


	10. Roxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such the long wait, this story is about to get very interesting.

I’m not entirely sure what happened, whether we were attacked or I fell down a flight of stairs, I don’t really seem to remember anything except something encasing my rib cage and breaking more than several ribs while also piercing the skin and then me getting tossed around like a rag doll. Oh, and the sounds of snapping and his voice in my head. That’s all I remember before I may or may not have seen the white light. And then I remembered that I can’t die, not now, not like this.

And so I fought, I played with fate once again, and when his voice comes to my ears through the darkness, I realize that I played correctly.

His voice is quiet and muffled at first, like I’m hearing him through a sheet of glass rather than being right next to him. I can’t quite open my eyes, so I’m still surrounded by darkness. And when I try to wiggle my toes, or any part of my body for that matter, all I feel is numbness. Now I wonder what exactly had happened to cause this, and when I ask this, Dirk seems to answer my question as I begin to come into reality and probably catch the end of his story. 

“-when I suddenly heard something and …. Jane… She was there and something was off about her…. She caught Roxy and I by surprise and distracted me… Jake appeared out of nowhere and…” He didn't need to continue. I could feel the darkness fade slightly at the edges as I remember the details of what had happened.

***

“We should get back…” I said as we laid on the white soft beach sand that yes, we had run off to. I felt his hand trail slightly through my hair while my head rested on his stomach, which bounced slightly when he spoke, or more like protested in his Strider way of his. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“They’re” as in the kids, as in Jade, Dave, and Rose, as in the three people who I would die for, as in the three people that Dirk and I have fought to protect for the past 150 years.

“What if they set the shower on fire though?” I suggested in half joking half seriously worried manner. One could never be quite sure what these kids were capable of.

Dirk chuckled in response to that and then covered my face with my hair. “Dave and Jade? Maybe. But we have left them in capable hands. Rose and Kankri would kick their asses if they got even a step out of the line.”

“You forgot Kanaya and Porrim.” I smiled at the thought of Porrim smothering them in motherly love. It was not something you see every day. “Yeah, see? Exactly, those kids are so taken care of we could spend all night gone and they’ll still be as snug as a bug in the summer.” He responded with a smile that I could hear in his voice, but not exactly see as my thick blond hair covers most of my face.  “Well, I can’t see anything except for the endless amount of blondalicious curls.” I replied. His smirk was evident when he slowly sat up so my head rested gently on his thigh. “Then you won’t be able to see this?” He stopped halfway in his bent position just half a foot away from my face. I puffed air through my hair and into his face before he swooped me up in his arms bridal style. ‘We have to go.’ 

I considered this for a brief moment. He had just used our telepathic connection instead of actually saying anything to me. ‘Why?’ Was my only reaction. ‘I can’t explain, we have to go.’ His thoughts are rushed, silent, like he’s trying to hide and when I try to search the hallways of his mind the doors are all locked. ‘Put me down and explain it.’ He sighs and does just that.

‘They-‘ I don’t get to hear the rest of the response. As soon as my feet touch the ground, I’m thrown backwards, an aching in my head. That wasn't a normal attack; it was definitely one similar to Lord English’s powers: dark auras. I tried to sit up, but my head was too cloudy and my vision too blurry. I could hear perfectly though.

“J-Jane?!?” Came Dirk’s voice through my messed up senses.

 My head was spinning as I tried to figure out what just happened. If Jane was here, and even alive in the first place, it could not mean anything good. She had amazing ghost keeping powers, especially one of a kind. If my memory served me correctly, she could block ghostly influences and powers and yet amplify them at the same time. She often amplified my own powers way back when. After all, Valkyries are certainly a type of ghost-like being that had died at one point in time.

And this time, she had blocked out my powers, which also meant my everything was just blocked.

“Hello again, D. Strider, what a pleasure it is to see you again.” Definitely Jane’s voice. The sound of it alone brings memories buried deep within my conscious of when we would just sit there and talk for hours on end.  The memories stung and I could feel a nightmare coming on. Definitely the presence of Lord English…………. Or another English.

“How?” Was his question as firm as his voice could be.

“Oh, that’s simple enough! Though I wouldn’t be worrying about it that much if I were you.” Certainly enough, she taunted him just as I’ve heard other puppets of LE do before.

“Why’s-“  Dirk is interrupted when a snarl erupted from somewhere nearby and sand is scattered everywhere by something running through the sand.  
“Oh look, a family reunion. Or is it a lover reunion, I never really understood how you three worked this out.” By the sound of Jane’s words, it wasn’t really hard to guess who had decided to join the party. Jake.

And from there, everything went completely dark, which is exactly when something crushed my rib cage and I couldn’t breathe or move.  
And that something was one Jake English.

How we somehow escaped, I had no clue. It was probably a desperate grab from Dirk as soon as Jake had decided he had enough of using me as a chew toy, which meant they were still well on our tail and maybe even in town already lurking.

***

“And now I can’t hear anything, not her thoughts, not her nightmares, nothing.”

I feel cold delicate fingers touch the side of my neck for my pulse. “Well, she is definitely still alive.”

I reach up with my hand to grab hers, but she swats it away, “I knew you were awake. Now what the hell do you think you were doing?”

I chuckle. “Thanks Rose, it’s nice to know you love me.”

“Hey, she’s not the only one here.” Dave says.

My eyes flutter open and I realize I’m on the couch with everyone surrounding me. Dave and Jade are leaning on the back of the sofa while Dirk sits on the arm rest by my feet and Rose is kneeling next to me.

Dirk is staring at me and when I look his way, he looks away.  So instead, I look over to Jade and Dave.  
“What’s this you’re saying, Strider #2? That you actually care about me?”

He doesn’t respond and Jade laughs. “That means yes.”

I smile slightly and try to sit up, but Rose stops me with a hand to my shoulder. “I don’t think so. Jake got you that good.”

I look around at the mention of his name. Dave suddenly has his arm around Jade and slightly swaying with her. Jade is looking down at the sofa. Rose is hiding her hurt very well. And Dirk? He still won’t look at me.

I do the tough thing. I smack her arm away and sit up anyways, a sudden dizzying in my head and my stomach. I’m suddenly nauseous; my chest feels constricted (which is a new feeling for this flat-chested Valkyrie such as myself). There’s a hand on my shoulder pulling me back down.

“Ro-Lal, this isn’t the time to be a daring moron.”

I clutch my head with my hand. “What’s the diagnosis then?”

This time, Rose responds, what a little me. “Hemorrhagic shock, eight broken ribs, a torn knee ligament, and about 42 teeth marks, each very deep depending on the kind of tooth, the deepest being the ones from his incisors.”

I nod and a small thought in my head shakes my world for just a bit longer.

I could have, should have, died.

Valkyries do not live forever, though we tend to due to all the things we have going for us to survive. One of which is the golden ichor that runs through our veins. It’s tougher than a human’s and has faster regeneration than a werewolf’s, which means our wounds seem to heal very quickly with no trace or scar. However, there is an exception to both rules. If there was a major injury that caused a valkyrie to lose more than 80% of blood, the chance of survival is very thin and they go into hemorrhagic shock, which is the shock received to humans from at least losing 20% of their blood. The exception to the scarring is a bit more complicated and rare. In order for the scarring to occur, very dark forces must be the thing directly harming a Valkyrie. Most spells will not do this, but a bite from a vampire or werewolf or a curse from a witch or the hauntings of a ghost seeker will do so.

From this more realizations follow.

Jake knew not to let go. He knew exactly how to keep my blood flowing for as long as possible.

This would definitely join the hall of fame for Roxy Lalonde’s number of numerous scars.

I lost most of my blood.

I have yet again become the exception to both of these rules.

I bite my lip absentmindedly, which Rose obviously took for something other than my deep train of thought and interrupts, “Of course, you obviously need rest and this is no place for that. So, if you would please, Dirk….”

He nods and walks over next to Rose to try to wrap his arms around me and carry me upstairs.

I am not having that.

I push away his attempts and sit up once more, swinging my legs onto the floor and muttering through my pains, “I can walk….”

I take the first step, then the second, then the third, swaying dangerously and limping with each step I take on my left foot.

“You don’t have to be a fighter.” Dirk says to me. He’s reminded me of this before, but I ignore him. If I wasn’t strong or a fighter, where would we be now?

Rose would probably have died long ago. I would be some nameless child, lost in the years of history and death. Dirk would be the great civil war commander who lost both his life and the war. Jade and Jake would probably be up there in Lord English’s great warriors. Sassacre would just be some lonely old man.

I fought then; I had to now as I always do. I can’t give up or take a rest. Last time I did that, we lost friends…. Jane and Jake to be exact. They always tell me that it wasn’t my fault and that it couldn’t be helped, but I could have done something. I could have stood up with my shattered mind and everything. I could have stood up and still fought. While this sounds crazy to others, it makes perfect sense to me, and there’s not a doubt that I could’ve protected them. I just didn’t.

And that is exactly why I must continue on.

 I’m almost to the stairs when I feel my knees buckle and the world spin. I feel as if I may reveal my insides to all as I land on the floor on my knees and hands, coughing.

There’s a sigh in my ear as Dirk picks me up in his arms and I lean into his chest, waiting for everything to stop hurting, spinning, anything.

It doesn’t. So I close my eyes and wish the world away.

***

I breathe in the smell of bacon and it warms my whole body as I stand over the hot stove, watching the delicacy sizzle sweetly and humming a long forgotten tune. My injuries also seem to be forgotten as I breath in the steam which kind of makes it hard to breath, but who really cares for that? I can hear a page rustle slightly as it is turned by a delicate hand. Rose is reading at the table again. A smooch and a groan of complaint reaches my ears as well, which means the love pups are at their mind love shenanigans again, but are there none the less. This feels so normal, so right, that I almost completely forget about what had happened. Almost.

There’s a harsh slapping noise as I wince from the sudden pain that left a stinging sensation. There’s another, less harsher and more casual slap as I just know that Dave is highfiving Dirk for his usual good morning greeting that does leave me with a huge red hand imprint on my ass. There’s another, way more harsher than the first slapping noise as Jade definitely slaps Dave for the highfive, which erects a chuckle from Dirk and an “ow” from Dave. The following two soft bumps reveal that not only is jade fist bumping Dirk under the table, but Rose has softly put her book down, probably had just finished another 4000 paged book again.

The funny thing about this is that I haven’t looked back at the table once as these things occurred, just watching the bacon sizzle and pop with savory flavor that brings drool to my mouth. I didn’t have to see them happen to know that they did.  
I spin around and Dirk raises an eyebrow at me from his position at the table leaning back and with his feet resting gently on it.  
“You okay, Rox?”  
“Y-Yeah… Everything’s all good.” I stutter and stumble a bit with relief that they’re still there, but also the feeling that something is wrong, very very wrong.

With a shrug and a half-smile from him, I turn back around. With the feeling of dread and anxiety gone, my mind was only to be filled with happiness. They’re real, and they’re unharmed. I often have this feeling in the small little moments like this. We can sit back and relax and hang with each other in such a teasing way. It’s times like these that I feel like they are my family, and I wouldn’t want to trade them in for anything. It’s times like these that have made all the bad in both of my lives be filled with right. It’s times like these that always have to end.

I shuffle the mouthwatering bacon onto a plate. Why we’re just having bacon I’m not entirely sure. It’s just a weird thing we started doing a while ago. Besides, I’m pretty sure Jade just shreds it to pieces with her canines as she devours it all.

I turn around and freeze. The room is empty with the small chairs still pulled out in the way they are when different people sit in them. The room is empty for all except me and one other.

Jake sits there on the table cross-legged, licking the blood off his claws. It’s an unusual power to be able to shift into a wolf at any time a werewolf pleases. It’s an extremely rare power for a werewolf to shift any part of their body into a wolf's at any moment of their choosing. Jake has seem to be able to do both since forever. Jade has always been more laid back on the whole werewolf thing and at times, it’s hard to even tell she has those powers if it weren’t for his ears and fluffy tail.

He smiles at me, his shiny white sharp canines threatening me of the possibility he may pounce.  

I close my eyes, wishing it away, and when I open them again, it’s almost completely dark.

Until my eyes adjust and I notice a teenage boy walking through the park, his red hair gleaming like a spotlight. And then I notice a glint of green, so slight it is entirely impossible to spot. But like before, I didn’t have to see it to know what was happening. Like how when the wolf crouched low within the bushes before pushing with his hind legs to push himself out in the path and landing with a snarl. In a second, the wolf moves to snap the boy’s neck, but he seems to be smarter than the wolf when he lifts his arm up to block it. There’s a shock of blue light that shatters the darkness for only a moment and with a howl of pain, the wolf lets go and rockets off.

***

John Sassacre Egbert, time of death: 11:37 pm. Location of death: Maple Valley Public Park.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh! What a cliffhanger! I'm sure you guys are on the edge of your seats either throwing a fit at what you just read or pressing bookmark if you haven't already done so. Now, lemme distract you from this with a hint for the Halloween chapters, which may or may not be posted on October 31st.  
> http://cdn2.hellogiggles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/07/Blood_moon_with_howling_wolf_by_Hunters_m00n.jpg  
> Happy Blood Moon, guys. >:)


	11. John

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is written by both me and Alissa.

America, April 12th, 1861

 

   I had just recently signed up for the Northern Army at the age of 16, I didn’t really have a choice but to, my father was too ill, and my mother couldn’t because she had to tend to him, which is bullshit to be honest. On my 5th month as the drummer (main reason is because I couldn’t be trusted with a gun, plus I couldn’t stand the thought of using one) we had taken residence in an old plantation that was owned by a rich slave owner before the war started, now it is owned by the Lalonde family, which consists of a girl my age and her older brother whom we rarely see. The older men, soldiers, were a bit harsh when demanding for shelter and food, I didn’t enjoy it, in fact I’m not too fond of this regiment.

   I hear my regiment speaking about something in the room next to the one I am currently in, I lean close to the wall so I can listen in without intruding.

"Hey, is it me or does that woman look like a witch to me?"

They all erupt laughing, then one butts in, "well, if she turns out bein' one of those women we can always burn 'er at the stake."

Another moment of laughter, I frown, what a bunch of assholes.

I hear the door creak open and the girl walks in with a pitcher full of water. "Do you need any water?"

I nod eagerly as she gives me a cup, "thank you." I say, smiling.

A smile tugs at her lips, "my pleasure." She then scurries off quickly, she is a bit odd to say the least.

I decide then, to go to the other room where my regiment is. The captain is drunk off his ass, as he slurs about how he knocked up a nun once. He then looks to me, "oi, you there. Drummer boy.. Charly.... Charles! Charles John was it?

"John Charles," I correct him.

"Whatever. Okay, Charles, I dare ya. I dare you to go kiss the hell outta that girl."

I blink and scrunch up my nose in disgust, "what?"

"You heard me... I order you to do it."

"Sir, with all due respect, you are drunk off your ass and I won't do it."

"Did I give you a direct order?"

"Well ye-" I can't finish my sentence, he's already up in my face and holding me by the collar.

"And what happens when you disrespect my orders?"

I gulp, and then he punches me in the face. He then drops me to the ground; I put my hand up to my nose to find that it's bleeding.

"Did you do this?" I hear a voice from behind. I look over to the girl, as she leans against the doorframe and tapping her fingers impatiently. I can see the fire in her eyes as if it were there for eons. The captain chuckles, "lil' lady, this has nothing to concern you. Now go back to th-"

"The kitchen?" She lets out a mocking laugh as she smiles. She then frowns almost instantly and marches over to him. She pushes him when she pokes him in the chest, "you, captain, is supposed to be fighting a war, I tolerated the fact that you barged in my house, ate nearly all my food, and then demanded to sleep here as if you were kings. But this," she jesters to you, "is crossing the line. I will not tolerate you jesters punching out a boy who has not done anything rude to me the whole time here."

The captain looks too shocked to retort back. The hostess then helps you up and gives you a handkerchief so you won't have bloodied hands, and she then escorts you out of the room.

 

"Thanks back there." I say, smiling a bit as she puts a bandage around my black eye I had gotten.

"It was nothing, men can be snobs sometimes. They soil themselves whenever women are actually able of thought."

"Oh nooo, what ever shall I do?" I joke.

She rolls her eyes, "alright, you're good. I suggest you stay in a separate room, you can choose any of the ones with the doors open. All closed-door ones are strictly prohibited."

I nod in agreement, "thank you, again."

"You're welcome," and with that she walks of. Golly.

* * *

I had only a moment to take the time to admire that one hell of a woman before the door swung open and a blond short haired boy came strutting in. On his back was another man, one who didn’t seem completely in the moment.

The boy’s pink eyes met my blue ones before darting up the stairs to where Rose had abruptly appeared.

“Riley?” She asked quickly, quietly as if she could never believe what she was seeing.

I put two and two together. This was the Lalonde Brother that was rarely seen.

He smiled at her. “Long time no see, huh? Now, I don’t mind to be rude… But can I get some help here?”

Rose gave him this sly smile before rushing down the stairs. Riley gently bent down to his knees while Rose helped the other man stand. “Get him to my room, please. And get me some of mom’s herbs. Thanks so much.” Riley plants a kiss on his little sister’s forehead and watches her make it easily up the stairs despite the weight of a full grown man (holy shit, she’s strong) before turning his gaze on me.

“Name, Rank.” He commands of me.

“John Charles, Drummer Boy.” I reply quickly, suddenly snapping into attention.

“Lieutenant Riley Lalonde.” He smiles, saluting me.

I freeze, there’s a lieutenant saluting me and I don’t know what to do. So I awkwardly raise my left hand… No wait, right hand to my forehead in a salute.

“You’re cute.” He chuckles, no doubt at my own awkwardness, as he brings down his arm and I do the same.

“So tell me, John. What do you think of your regiment?”

“Sir, they’re a bunch of assholes waiting for someone to hand it to them, to be honest.”

He nods in response. “Thanks for the honesty, not a lot of people are brave enough to be that brutally truthful about it.” And then he’s gone upstairs, probably off to attend to that soldier.

Who was he anyways?

I stand there awkwardly for a moment, definitely not wanting to join my squadron but not entirely sure if I’m welcome upstairs. I sigh.

 

Fifteen minutes later, Rose and Riley are halfway down the stairs. I catch the last few sentences of their conversation.

“-just such ungrateful pigs. They’re disrespectful and stupid. Not to mention, they punched John, one of their very own.” Rose says, obviously caught up in her own thoughts.

Riley nods in reply, a bottle of glass in his hands. “Understandable, let me take care of this.”

He walks straight past me without a bit of acknowledgement. Rose follows behind as Riley opens the door to which my squadron is located. I follow and look over their shoulders to see everyone standing up at attention in a salute.

As Riley begins to speak, I can hear the grin in his words. “At ease, soldiers.” The men all visibly relax.

He sits on the edge of the table with a smile. "Welcome to my humble home, gentlemen. I hope you have been enjoying your stay as well as my sister."

The captain nods. “Yes, of course, tha-“

Riley didn’t let him finish. "Though I suppose none of you thought twice about treating her and your own soldier like crap.”

The Captain looks stunned. My eyes scan the room and I spot several of the squadron glance at each other in nervousness. They were caught.

Riley just continues, ignoring the world as if it doesn’t exist. "John Egbert is merely a boy and you, captain, punched him, bet you were drunk off your asses too. Doesn't matter really, just know that you don't want to be here when I've had a bit too much to drink."

“John Charles.” I correct immediately. I have no clue who this Sassacre bloke is, but he has a pretty cool name.

"I've had about four fifths of this bottle, kid. I don't do well with names." Now that he’s pointed it out, I could hear the slightest slur in his voice.

"What are you talking about, sir? The filthy boy is just lyin'." The Captain states.

Riley’s eyes narrow at the captain as if he is aiming to pounce but knows better. "Is he? I see the hints of a bruise quite well. And I believe my sister's opinion over all of your filthy minds."

"He was gonna mack on 'er so I had to stop him." That captain sure is relentless and a terrible liar at that too.

Riley gets dangerously close to the captain in response to that. "My sister is more capable than you realize. She is not a girl that needs protecting."

He goes silent, "sorry, sir."

"Oh, don't be apologizing to me." Riley says darkly before walking out of the room.

"C'mon boys, we're obviously not wanted here. You too Charles." The captain clearly states with a bit of hurt and embarrassment threatening its way into his tone.

Riley peaks his head back in. "John is more than welcome to stay, in fact, he may be the epitome of the greatest guests ever. You guys on the other hand were kind of stationed here and leaving would be a disobeyment from a direct order. Have a nice night, gentlemen."

"Damn him." The captain curses as soon as Riley is gone.

 ***

Hours later, I’m leaning against the porch railing with a rifle by my side. I don’t really know how to shoot, but the captain was being pretty sour to me and I would much rather be as far away from the whole regiment as possible. It’s a nice night too, I realize as I stare up at the stars shining brightly amongst the blanket of darkness. The clouds drift across the moon every now and then, knowing better than to block out its brilliance forever. Something’s off though. I could taste it in the wind. I laugh at the thought of it being Riley trying to scare the pants off of everyone, but I know it’s not possible.

The moon’s light seems to disappear, along with all the stars. I rub my eyes to the almost pitch black darkness. I’m not mistaken, all the lights in the sky have somehow gone out.

A shiver is sent down my spine as something rustles in the bush. I grab the rifle quickly, but am soon knocked down by a small oily creature that really could have used a bath. It growls and scratches at me and my clothes with what feels like razor sharp claws. I yell in surprise and try to throw it off me. The door slams open, almost taking off my head and a brilliant bright light seems to shine through. The creature jumps back and I scramble for inside the doorway to find a blond haired lieutenant standing there.

“Stand up, John. We have a fight to win.”

***

The darkness lightens up a bit as I suddenly feel aching from my arm.

“What…. What happened?”

I open my eyes to the dark room. I don’t really know how I got into my room and I had the strange feeling that I had forgotten something. Amongst the darkness is a faint gold glowing. I blink and my vision somewhat refocuses to what appears to be a small girl with long blond girls standing there. I catch the slightest of movement behind her of what appears to be grey feathers before she disappears as if the darkness has swallowed her.

Damn, I really can’t see that well without my glasses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I am so sorry for the wait. This chapter was supposed to be Alissa's, but lately, she's become so busy and tied up in things that she's been rather stressed out. It took a while to convince her to let me finish her chapter, but I finally did so the distinction between what she wrote and what I wrote is that simple line. Thank you so much for putting up with the wait and reading this. Happy holidays!


	12. Roxy

I open my eyes to darkness and clutch the corners of the sheets, not quite wanting to move from the severity of the pain that echoes throughout my nerves. I’m not quite sure how long I’ve been out or what time it even is, but chances are that my injuries have already healed. I sit up slowly this time, careful not to make myself really sick. My head pounds slightly and my stomach turns, the constriction is still slightly there, though I can breathe easier. I may not be as fully healed as I should be, but I should be fine. 

The sheets are soon on the floor and so am I as I quickly drop to the ground due to the pain in my leg that hasn’t magically vanished like the other battle scars. It healed alright, just not in the right place. I curse quietly as I push myself back off the floor.

Okay, maybe I’m not all that okay.

But I quickly toss that thought to the back of my clouded head as I take a deep breath and try to remember that dream. There’s something I’m supposed to do, something so important to me that I would have to leave now.   
“John Sassacre Egbert, time of death: 11:37 pm. Location of death: Maple Valley Public Park.” A voice says clearly through the darkness. I look up at my bed to see an old friend sitting there with his red tipped wings folded behind his back. The silver of his necklace has a gentle pleasant glow that illuminates him and doesn’t hurt my eyes. I rub them nonetheless as I sit cross legged on the floor, the dream slowly coming back to me. He smiles softly. “Hard day, young one?” I scoff at him. “Signless, you can say that again.” His smile widens for a moment before he clears his throat and mentally reminds himself this is all clearly business. 

“You have exactly 26 minutes to help this poor soul.”

I glance at the clock. It’s 11:11, kind of ironic if you ask me. “No.” I respond simply as I push myself up off the floor.   
He sighs in reply, ready for this fight again. “You were almost relieved of your duty today and yet you dare try to refuse it still?”   
I stretch my arms out as I stand on one foot, not caring about what he has to say. “We’ve been over this.”   
“Have we? Please, refresh my memory.”

I sigh as I slide a loose plain white dress on over my bandaged chest and bright pink underwear. “I refuse to let innocent souls die on account of our mistakes.”   
“And how is this your mistake? Afterall, isn’t it your eternal role to-”   
I interrupt him as I fold my arms and my wings spread out, looking as black as possible in the darkness. It hurts to do this, to look as strong and intimidating as possible. “My eternal role is decided by no one, but me. And I’m certain of this because of my strong relationship with the fates.”    
He frowns. “No need to show off your rank, remember who taught you, who helped you earn your wings.”    
I frown at him, not relenting.   
As a Valkyrie, I did not start off with wings, which helped me camouflage back when no one had a clue I had even died. Instead, I worked my way up after an incident that left the elders awed. In our world, the bigger your wings, the higher your rank, and mine just happen to have a span of 16 feet (kind of awkward if you ask me, I can rarely stretch them out all the way when in doors). “You helped me kill my parents.”    
“That was not my fault, Valkyrie of Death.”   
“Shut up, Signless.”

“No, child. Listen here. Only one can exist at a time and you refuse to do your job. You refuse to remain on your side and bring death and tragedy to humans. You refuse to do what others have done before you. No, instead you use your powers to save those who don't deserve it. You use them to upset both the balance and the dark one. It is be-”    
“Shut up!” I yell, silencing him immediately before letting my wings fold behind my back, making me look small. When I speak next, it’s in a tone so dangerously quiet that I think even the Great Powerful Signless cannot hear. “This war is not because of me. Fate has treated me like its play toy and so have all of you, thinking I’m just some instrument of great power that can do exactly what you’ve wanted to do for a very long time. We both know that all of the elders want to destroy the darkness and how can they do that when both sides are completely equal? The answer is obvious. They can’t. This war is not because of me, it is because of two enemies that have clashed since the beginning of time. The Valkyrie of Death is selected to keep peace between the two by keeping both sides occupied with tragedies and deaths. The Light Side protects those who need it and reap the kind souls while the Dark Side is bathed in a new batch of demons and monsters while also keeping the Dark One happy. The Valkyrie of Death only exists because this is a war we can’t win. Darkness will swallow up every last bit of light unless stopped. And the thing that prevents them is a gift. You give a Valkyrie to the darkness. Do you not feel the dark energy, Signless? Cause that’s me. I Have been stripped of my power to do good and I refuse to let it go.”   
He almost smiles. I can see the corners of his mouth twitch. “Of course.”

The tone in his voice, I can hear it. He believes everything I’ve said, and then I take a moment because my knowledge of this has come from somewhere. It was him who taught me of this… But why not agree with me now? 

Wait, of course. We’re being watched. Her Imperious Condense is listening in. 

I take a deep breath and the darkness in the room seems to lighten up. 

“Why do you even come visit me? Give me jobs as such?”   
He smiles this time, looking like the heavenly beautiful angel I’ve known him as. “I believe that you are more of a powerful asset to us as a rogue.”   
I nod and walk over to my door, sliding my jacket on and then reaching for the knob. “Well, it seems that this rogue is out of here.”    
He waves as I open the door and walk out onto our wacky staircase. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dirk says, leaning against the staircase in front of our door. I look back behind me and Signless is gone, figures.    
“Nowhere.” I start making my way down the stairs leaning heavily against the railing. 

“You’re going to save someone again, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Roxy, give me a straight answer.”

“Dirk, you know I can’t.” 

I’m at the bottom of the staircase about to take a step down onto the cold wood floor when his arms wrap around me from behind. “You can’t leave.”   
“I’m fine.” I say, trying to shrug his arms off of me.    
“They can’t do this.”   
I sigh. “Dirk, they’re not making me. It’s my own choice. Besides, it’s Sassacre who’s in trouble.” My voice drops to a whisper at this point, making sure no one else can hear. “They’re all asleep, they can’t hear you.” Dirk replies to my whisper before letting go. I nod and turn around, making sure to put most of my weight on my good leg. “So he’s been reincarnated? To who?” He inquires of me. I just shake my head in reply. “You know I’m not allowed to discuss this with anyone.” “I thought you said that the ‘rogue’ is out of here?” He responds.

Damn him and his quick thinking.

‘Thank you.’

“Dirk, I have limited time, please just let me save his life. He doesn’t deserve to die again, not by Jake’s paw.” I plead. He frowns. "So Jake is-"

"Dirk, do you trust me?" I interrupt him with our long old saying, the one that got us here in the first place.

"Roxy, I-"

"Simple question, do you trust me?" 

"Yes."

"Then please, let me leave."

He sighs and just motions to the door. I can still hear his questions echo in my head as I walk out.

***

“John?” I shiver slightly as I stumble through the street lamp illuminated park. He’s around here somewhere. There’s a scampering noise behind me and I swivel around on my toes, starring the beast right in the eyes. As Jake sets his paw forward, it’s easy to tell that he’s hurt. There’s another howl somewhere off in the distance and my only thought is Jade. I swallow the concern for her and continue to approach the poor animal. As I reach out my hand to him, he gives me a confused look before dashing off haphazardly into the darkness. 

I’m about to follow him when I hear a groan. It’s game time. I slide my jacket off after checking my phone. Five minutes. 

Dashing through the darkness, I squint my watering eyes and search the darkness. Finally, I spot him. Well, not him, Wayne Vegabound is who I see, but I suppose he has taken to Sassacre so he follows around Sassacre’s reincarnations. I haven’t seen him in years. He waves me down. “Oh, Miss Roxanne, you have to come quick. John, he’s-” I interrupt him, though I don’t bother to correct him with my name. That’s been a lost cause. “Where?” “I’ll show you.” And WV starts floating off into the night.

He looks terrible, to be honest. I don’t know what I expected to see, but certainly not this. He’s out on his back, blood seeping through a poorly made bandage. I take a note to properly teach him how to wrap injuries later. 

His arm is bent at an obscure angle and his complexion is pale.

Think quickly. 

I bend down carefully, unwrapping his make shift bandaid to the gruesome tear of teeth. With a sigh, I pull a roll of gauze out of my jacket, which has found its way to lying on the dark sidewalk, before quickly and thoroughly wrapping a very thick bandage to hopefully block the bleeding just a bit and push away death. In the corner of my mind, I hear a quiet delicate voice "Johnathan Sassacre Egbert. Time of death: 11:42." Thats a bit more time, which is good. I carefully sit him up and drape my jacket over his shoulders. I wrap my arms around him and slide him up into my arms. "Hello again, you old soul." In his semi unconscious state, I swear he's at his most alert. He chuckles slightly, quietly like it pains him to do so and shoots me the faintest half smile. "Quite..... quite the circumstance...... huh?" His voice is rough, quiet, young and yet with the echos of a thousand other old voices. He's dying and yet he's still joking. Yes, this is my Sassacre. "Indeed, but don't worry, I've got you yet again." 

"My hero....." he responds weakly before I kick off the ground with all of my force and fly off amongst the clouds, perfectly camouflaged by the stormy weather.

***

The old woman opens the door with a sad smile. "Found himself in trouble yet again, hasn't he?" She lets me in. 

"Werewolf bite, his room?" I speak urgently.

"Oh yes, upstairs, third door on the left."

I nod and start running up the stairs, naming off different herbs that would be needed for John's wound. 

I follow her directions and find myself in a rather large messy room. The walls are plastered in movie posters and the floor is covered in DVDs, video games, and boxes. He obviously hasn't bothered to unpack the things that aren't important to his average life. I lay him gently on his bed and listen intently to his breathing. A laugh comes from long ago as a memory comes to surface. 

***

"Don't get blood on my sheets." I joked, slowly unwrapping the daring blond captain's bandage that covered a bullet wound.

I sat on my bed with my legs crossed, the wounded captain laying beside me. His blond hair fell slightly over his tangerine orange eyes. The faint rosy glow of his cheeks was faintly noticeable. I knew it was because of his fever that he was red. After all, I was just another medic. 

"I'll try my best, Riley." He croaked.

I reached to brush his hair back when Rose entered with her old fashioned lilac gown. "I've got the medicine." She didn't bother to ask if she had interrupted something.

***

"You're never going to give up, are you Roxanne?" The old women interrupts. I smile at Janet, Sassacre's granddaughter, memories of her and the good old days coming to mind. Way back when, she had this bright orange thick hair that fell wildly across her shoulders. Her seafoam blue eyes would look up at you from underneath thick eyelashes. She was adorable. However, now as she shuffles into the room with the needed herbs, her stringy grey hair falls slightly into her face from her pulled back hair. The youth in her pretty eyes is replaced by years of old knowledge. Its been 63 years since I've seen her last and she's grown up........ I blink back the tears and give her a wider smile.

"Of course not." 

She chuckles at me. "So that's really him, huh?"

I give her a nod while sliding the herbs out of her arms.

She smiles sadly, as if that's what she feared the most. "He doesn't know of your world. Not quite yet. Its best that he didn't." 

I nod, getting to work and hopefully saving John's life. "Understandable, though I think its caught up to him. Ghost seeker and a wizard, right?"

She nods and I realize just how much danger faces him.

Hours later, hes awake, which catches me off guard. I thought he'd be out for at least a day. "What.... what happened?" He asks sleepily, like he could pass back out. I don't answer him, I don't think I'm the one who has the heart to tell him. Or the right. I just smile and slide back into the darkness and away into the night, hoping that he had never noticed me.

** Though with my skin slightly glowing due to the blood underneath trying to work its magic, I doubt it. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially the sassyness of one Roxy Lalonde. I hope you guys have caught on to this whole "Roxy has a deep dark secret" thing and are eager to learn more about her past and what she can really do. There's a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter so I do know where I wanna go with this. However, any suggestions or ideas are more than welcome, as well as your average kudos and bookmarks. As always, I can't thank you enough for reading. (Hint: I would really like to see some fanart of this.)


	13. John

"Grandpa, I'm scared!" The seven year old girl cried as she clung to the side of a bed, her blue eyes frosted over with tears.  
  
"Don't be scared, darling. This is one of my oldest friends, she'll take care of you." An old voice replied with much difficulty.  
  
A small figure with short choppy hair appeared on the other side of the sad scene and smiled slightly to the girl. The figure gave off a slight glow and a pleasant calming sensation. "Please don't worry Janet. Everything's going to be okay."  
  
"How do you know?" The child whimpered back as everything fades out to darkness.  
  
"Because I'm an angel." The figure replied confidently as a golden glow began to take over the darkness.  
  
***  
  
I rub at my eyes as I stir from a deep sleep. It's obviously morning, but I don't exactly remember the damn sun being so bright. It's a dark omen for what the day held for me.  
  
Running down the stairs with my shirt and pants thrown haphazardly on, I try not to trip in my semi excitement and semi dread. I soon end up in the kitchen where the delicious smell of breakfast resides.  
  
I freeze when I first enter the room, a voice echoing in the back of my mind.  
  
"Grandpa, I'm scared."  
  
I shake it off with the feeling that I'd forgotten something entirely important. "Good morning, Nanna!" I greet the old kind woman somewhat enthusiastically.  
  
She chuckles slightly, picking up on my dread of the day easily. "Good morning to you too, sonny boy. Excited to turn in all your missed assignments?"  
  
I groan as the toast pops out of the toaster. "Don't remind me."  
  
It's been about three weeks since I've been at school and boy am I not excited to go once again. The three weeks I picked to be laying in bed with an arm torn apart from a dog attack just happens to be the three weeks that my wonderful teachers decided to assign pretty much everything. Sure, that doesn't sound bad, but the injury and video games completely threw me off task and let's face it. When you're lying at home with plenty of free time, school is the last thing on your mind.  
  
Nanna tssks at me as she hands me a plate to wolf down. "I reminded you several times, Johnathan."  
  
"I know, I know."  
  
She shakes her head at me. "Do you really, Johnathan? I would've sworn that a young man like you would have so much more responsibility."  
  
I try to tune out Nanna's nagging as best as I can as I start to scarf down food. I'll be surprised if this isn't what I hear all day.  
  
October air, along with a threateningly cloudy sky, greets me as I step out moments later. Sure, I don't have to be at school for another hour, but I really did not want to stay under Nanna's forcefully nagging hands. So I walk the streets casually with my backpack sling over my shoulders. I could not help but let my thoughts wander.  
  
Last night's dream was not the only one like that, where I'd wake up feeling like I completely forgot something I absolutely needed to know. And even now, all I can recall is just that: this hopeless sense of forgetfulness. I mean, don't get me wrong. I've forgotten tons of things, like that one time I forgot that the break of my bike was broken and I rammed right into the garage or when I left Con Air in a bag on the floor and smashed it, but never something quite like this. This was something huge, something that didn't make me feel completely comfortable in my own shoes. It was that cliche eeriness that happens to characters in cheesily amazing scary movies. I couldn't help but feel ridiculous about it.  
  
And yet, it was still there.  
  
I look to the side and behind me. If only WV were here. Most of the time he's annoying and is only there to get me to "help out his fellow spirits and all of humanity", but he's always been a great person to talk to. Somehow, he understood my problems on a various amount of levels despite his special personality. Where are his inspiring words of motivation when I need it?  
  
"I see you still haven't learned how to dress."  
  
I look down to my cargo shorts and black shirt that proudly displays that I'm not afraid of no ghosts despite the fact that it's covered slightly by my bright blue jacket.  
  
"What do you have against ghostbusters?" I ask as I look more closely to the girl in the tree. It's been weeks since I've seen her, and never once in the morning semi light like this.  
  
Her blond hair shimmers in the dimmed light and her devilish grin compliments her pixish features. She seems small, but anyone could tell that she would be able to hold her own in a fist fight.  
  
"Well, obviously, someone has not heard of the lore behind this town."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"We're surrounded by trees, John. We have a bunch of lakes all over the place. Think about it yourself. This place was settled upon by miners. It's begging to be full of ghosts and werewolves and vampire and fairies and any other large amount of evil spirits that haunt this place."  
  
Now that she's pointed it out, it's kind of hard to ignore. This is the perfect place for any amount of paranormal activity, not to mention a handful of other mythical creatures. Heck, this could even be the home of Bigfoot. It is a nice enough place.  
  
"Dave, look-"  
  
Crash!  
  
I'm sent flying backwards to the ground with something rather cold and heavy on me. My glasses were sent flying back. There's a giggle and a groan.  
  
"What just.... Egbert?" The voice sounded really familiar, almost like...  
  
"... Dave?"  
  
"The one and only." He responds pushing himself off of me and standing up as if he did not just have like a major crash. On the other hand, he did have a human cushion.  
  
Jade must have caught up to us when she questions us worryingly and I have to wonder if the two are ever apart. "Are you okay, John?"  
  
"Yeah, fine. Though," I pause dramatically, throwing a pitiful look to the blob that I believe is Jade. "I can't see without my glasses."  
  
She chuckles as she walks past me to pick them up. "Wanna borrow mine?"  
  
"Nah, I have a spare." I repeat the scene of our first meeting with a slight smile. "Not really though." I add quickly.  
  
She laughs and hands them to me before pulling me up off the ground. Man, she has a strong grip. "I'm so sorry, John. Dave and I were just having our usual race, but of course, he doesn't pay attention."  
  
With my glasses back on, I can see her throw a meaningful and slightly annoyed look to Dave, who raises his eyebrow at her before turning his attention to the girl in the tree whose name I frankly can just not remember.  
  
"Vicky, what are you doing out here?"  
  
"Oh, you know, sitting in my usual tree." She responds sarcastically.  
  
"I see that." He rolls his eyes enthusiastically.  
  
"Anyways," Jade cuts in. "School starts in fifteen. We should probably skedaddle."  
  
"You should at least wait till the gang's all here before you make such preposterous suggestions." Rose smiles slightly as she walks toward our small gathering on the sidewalk. I consciously become aware of the dust all over me and brush it off slightly.  
  
"Well, it looks like all of the 'gang' is here so..." Dave bolts off again.  
  
Jade groans as she shoots me an apologetic glance.  
  
"We have to stop meeting like this." And with that, she's gone too, trailing after Dave.  
  
Rose rolls her eyes and waves goodbye to Vicky as we continue to walk behind the two. Dave's not that fast and Jade's soon passed him. Yet, I don't think Dave is running as fast as he really can. After all, how do you knock someone to their feet with such a great amount of force?  
  
"It's nice to see you again, John." Rose smiles at me, starting up a pleasant chatter.  
  
"Yeah, tell me about it. It's nice to be out of that house." I smile and she smiles back. There's a slight pause.  
  
"So why did Dave say 'gang' like that?"  
  
"We usually have to wait for my extremely slow sister and Dave's older brother, but lately they've been leaving way before us." Rose responds like it's no big deal though her smile slightly fades.  
  
"That's weird. Do you guys all live next door to each other or something?"  
  
"Regretfully, no. While it may sound like one fucked up young adult novel where everyone is magnificently caught screwing the other, we live in the same house." She responds wearingly.  
  
"Oh, that kind of sounds fun though! Imagine the adventures you could have and the pranks you could pull on each other." I reply enthusiastically.  
  
"Well... No, not really. It's more like a jumbled mess of sweat and hormones all thrown into one room by some grand master plan that thinks we'll be able to flourish in such an environment."  
  
"I guess it could get old and crowded after a while, huh?"  
  
"Crowded isn't even the beginning of the spiraling staircase of household issues, but I suppose it has its high points."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
She grins mysteriously at me as we arrive to the foot of the school.  
  
"I'm sorry to disrupt our blather of conversation, but I do have to get to class." She says with such a dramatic sadness that it was hard not to laugh.  
  
Maybe today isn't going to be as bad as I thought.  
  
Or maybe it isn’t.  
  
I never truly realized how hard it is to keep up with classes once you fall behind. Now though, I kind of regret not doing my work. Chemistry makes no sense to me. Wait, how can NA stand for sodium? What do you mean you’ve explained it three times?  Geometry looks like a bunch of lines to me. History is like starting in the middle of a book instead of at the beginning and trying to figure out why this event happened or why Japan pretty much said “F you” to the U.S. in the form of bombing Pearl Harbor. English is okay since it’s just a bunch of the words, but then we get to a word no one knows or even the difference between denotation and connotation. My PE class also learned all the rules to kickball and then even started doing their own versions so I’m screwed. Wait, whose idea was it to combine dodgeball and kickball? Never mind, just dodge the balls, John. Dodge the balls, you must. Choir’s awesome, I guess. It’s just that they’ve been out their piano player for so long, they’ve just forgotten about me and now I have to sight read like I’ve never done before.  I also don’t understand anything in my Spanish class. So yeah, not that great.  
  
In all honesty, I was happier for it to be the end of the school day than ever before. Maybe even more for the fact that a certain blonde had actually became my friend and I had found somewhere where I belong.  
  
Dave groaned dramatically. “Oh, woe is me. The teacher hast given us another Shakespeare project.”  
  
“To do or not to do, that is the question.”  Rose teased him.  
  
“I think the question is cheat sheet, oh cheat sheet, where art thou cheat sheet?” Jade laughed.  
  
“I don’t think that’s how projects work.” I added in. It’s almost strange really, how comfortable I already am with these guys.   
  
A bit of laughter, some smiles, why does this seem so natural?  
  
"Who are you gonna partner up with anyways, John?" Jade spoke up.  
  
I thought about it for a moment. She was certainly right. I didn't have a partner. Maybe Jade would want to be mine. After all, people who offer each other their glasses are bound to be awesome.   
  
"I wouldn't think twice about that, kid." Another voice spoke up. It was clear and deep yet mature and sent chills down my spine as nails on a chalkboard would.  
  
"There's no way Dave would ever let you partner up with his dearly beloved." I turn around and begin to question who this guy was... And how he knew what I was thinking.  
  
These weirdo anime shades covered half his face, but his bright blonde hair that jutted out everywhere made up for his lack of features. One hand was shoved into the back pocket of his jeans and the other was wrapped around a dirty blonde girl that wore a leather jacket and was definitely no taller than 5'1. She looked too familiar and way too young, perhaps his younger sister.  
  
She elbowed him in that moment and smiled, "oh, John! I've been meaning to catch up with you since your little accident." When I stare blankly in response, unsure of what to say to this stranger, she makes a gesture of hitting herself in the side of her head. "Oh duh! You don't know who I am," she holds out her arm to me with a warm welcoming smile. "I'm Roxy, ASB President. And I see you've met my little sister, Rose."  
  
Rose seems to give her sister a death stare at that, but I ignore her and nod. "Pleasure to meet you!"  
  
She grins. "Same to you."  
  
The silence that follows is short and full of tension. Rose is staring ignorantly at Roxy, who seems to be completely oblivious. Dirk and Dave are staying entirely too still and Jade is leaning from one foot to the other.  
  
Roxy quickly breaks it. "So John, do you walk home?"   
  
"Oh, well, ye-"  
  
"That's great. You're totally welcome to join us on the trip home."   
  
I nod in response. "Thanks, I will."  
  
With those words, it was instantly decided to begin and so we did. I catch a whisper from Rose to Roxy as she passes us.   
  
_"Why are you protecting him?"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know. I said I'd post the chapter soon and soon became one month, then two, then nine. I'm sorry for that, but please know that I am still totally up for continuing this. I'll be honest that my ideas have changed throughout these nine months and while writing this, I was struggling with the constant thought of "oh, this is so stupid". Much like any writer to not like their own work, huh? There is a bit of news in this and that is that I am now writing this by myself. However, I do have an illustrator, my best friend Sam. He'll be getting illustrations up as soon as he catches up with his school work (poor guy got really sick). Anyways, happy reading and hopefully, I'll see you all again soon.  
> ~Isabelle


	14. Dirk

Her blond curls tumble onto my arm. Her small body just a shadow in the dark. She smells of strawberries and tangerines, surprisingly the best scent in the world. I smile at the thought that the smell brings to mind.

  
A while ago, she revealed to me that her scent changes depending on the person since it makes heaven seem a bit more like heaven, which is why it's the best scent in the world to me. I didn't believe her at first, but my reply to this was still smooth: "So you're my little slice of heaven then, huh?" My smile fades with the bittersweet part of it. I miss that: the time of peace, where there wasn't that constant instinctual fear of whether or not we'll be dead by the end of the hour.

  
She rolls over away from my reach and I let her; I find no use in accidentally getting punched. I may have super strength, but that does not mean that an angel of the almighty can't hurt me. So instead, I close my eyes and listen to the world around me, to Rose's reading way too late at night, to Jade's sweet dream, and to Dave's envy of sleep.

  
I laugh quietly to myself about Dave. He was always an old little cookie, even considering the whole vampire spiel. It took the dude a century of relentless pain to even accept the act of drinking blood (and then blood transfusions became a thing along with a blood bag and he was set). He can be seen literally sinking his fangs into a bottle of apple juice. Then, there's the human stuff. Of everything and anything he could miss like being able to be with his girlfriend and not having to stop breathing because she smells so badly (nothing against Jade, it's just the normal werewolf scent) or maybe even the ability to actually be physically challenged, he misses sleep. He misses the ability to close his eyes and slow his body functions enough to drift off.

  
Perhaps I can't blame the guy. That does seem to be the perfect escape.

  
Very faintly, I can also hear the static of John's dreamless sleep. Usually with mortals, I can't hear their thoughts unless I can see them. Even with the supernatural, they begin to fade out with the distance unless the being in question is super powerful. And even then, how does one ever hear the static of another's mind? Whatever John is, he's not a mortal and he's very powerful.

  
I eye the sleeping Roxy that's out of my arm's reach. Anyone would think that an angel would be the last person to keep secrets, but this one proves otherwise. She can't tell me a lot of things, but the most important one right now is Sassacre. After what he did to Rose, I thought Roxy would abandon him, would let him suffer the curse himself. But no, she saved his life again.

  
I have my own theories about her secrets and her own relentless compassion. With John's injury and the timing set just perfectly, I'm almost certain that he is Sassacre. That would explain why Roxy is protecting the young boy who needs to relearn everything. But then why doesn't John reveal himself to the rest of us so that we could joke around and then get him trained for the battle? Knowing him, it would be the most logical thing to do, no matter how much grief it would cause.

  
_Strider!_

  
I pause for a moment. It can't be.

  
_Strider, I need your help!!!_

  
His accent is undeniable and perfect. The way he speaks and the terror in his voice is identical to my memories in every way. Jake is back.

  
Or is he? This could be a trap, a mistake for me if I were to go join him. But if it weren't a trap... That this was real...

  
I gently slide out of the covers. Before leaving the room, I look back to see Roxy's tiny body now curling up and taking over the blanket. I laugh gently and slide out of the door. I have no need to wake her, whether I'm hearing things or not, whether it's our Jake or not. It's too dangerous for her. Especially since last time.

  
I look up towards Rose's room. The light barely peaks its way from underneath her door, almost like it is trying to brighten the outside darkness. Pausing for a moment of concentration, I can hear the turn of a page, the clicking of a tongue as eyes quickly sweep over line after line, words falling together into perfect sense and understanding. It's not my mind and it's not my actions, but it is Rose's. It's almost funny really, how through thoughts you can discover every little thing about a person, who they are and how they became who they are. Back then, I felt like it was intrusive and a burden, but now my gift is everything to me. It's my survival.

  
A shrieking howl brings me back to my original plan and I begin running down the stairs. I lose track of my legs underneath me, the sudden breeze blowing through the house, my hair, and then out the door. I hear Dave pick up my anxious mood and a blood curdling scream from Jade. I stop in my tracks, the black sky darkening the already black street.

  
_It's just a nightmare, Jade. Jade, Jade, it's just a nightmare._

  
Dave's reassurance (and thankfully his new distraction) to her sends my feet flying again. It was just a nightmare... But still, who knows?

  
So, for the first time in a while, I pray that he stays in his room and keeps the girls safe... Even if they sure as hell don't need his protection.

  
The dark sky above me transforms to the dark green canopy of the forest. It's only been a couple minutes and I'm deep into the nearby forest, maybe even in the middle. Now, I wait.

  
Minutes later, with my eyes closed, I lean against a tree, my mind scanning, focusing, and refocusing.

  
Dave's peaked his head into my room and finds it empty: Roxy's gone.

  
Gentle footsteps padding down the stairs: Rose has finally emerged from her dungeon.

  
Tail wagging, heart pounding: Jade's caught her brother's scent. _They're just bringing Jake home._ Over and over and over again.

  
Wind blowing, a shiver down the spine: she's out here.

  
Tail swaying, claws dragging against the cold ground: Jake has emerged from the near black of the forest, his green eyes blending in with the surrounding foliage.  
His whimper begins, quiet yet very real. _Strider_ , they seemed to say. _Why did you let this happen? Why? Why? Why?_ This thought tears right through me. I let him chase after his sister. I let him go by himself while I tended to Dave who wasn't too well either. I had no choice not to do so. My brother was dying, his girlfriend and Jane went chasing after Roxy, who unknowing to us at the time was dying in a ditch Gods know where. I couldn't help him; there was no possible situation where everyone turned out okay.  
Images of what Roxy had desperately described to me came to mind as Jake's red coated black fur catches the moonlight.

  
"I could've stood back up, thrown myself in front of Jade... But Jake... He beat me to it. He looked like a badass hero taking the Handmaiden's hit. He stood up despite the gashes that were showing through his fur. He took hit after hit and even then shouted 'Take them and get out of here, Jane! Go!' Jane took both of us, Jade and me. She slung me across Jade's back so that I held onto her neck, and then jumped on herself. It wasn't even two minutes later when Jake's scream echoed. Gods, it sounded so fucking painful, so terrified. Jane jumped off at that point, shouted to Jade that she'd bring her brother back in one piece, and was gone... Just gone." Roxy's breaking voice and heart echoing throughout my mind. She blames it on herself, everything.

  
Jakes whimper turns into a growl, only half a foot from where I stand rooted to the ground. I tell myself to run, but his thoughts keep me in place. He's practically screaming in horror and in pain.

  
_It is your entire fault and I loved you, Strider! I loved you!_

  
I feel myself fall to the ground, see the small glint of a smirk, and disappear from reality.

***

   It was just a kiss, I had told myself over and over again. It was just a kiss. Yet when I saw him, my heart skipped beats, my breath caught, and my knees felt wobbly. I held my cool around him and everyone else. We were hanging out in the middle of the camp; it was well into the Civil War. Riley's cover had been blown to reveal that he was really a she and she herself had snuck in as a medical officer to save my life, even though she was a higher rank than I. John had dropped that regiment of his and officially joined my own. Jake had become a traitor to the North and was still trying to find his little sister to show her the true path.

  
It was almost awkward really, almost ironic, that I was sitting next to both Roxy, the girl who tried very hard to permanently earn my affection and my apparent destined "true love" and Jake with his breath shaking chuckles and his handsomely devilish features. John had approached our group, something about needing Riley and I to inspect a spell that he had figured out how to do. Both of us got up, Riley and my hand brushed slightly and I let her walk after john first. I took one step and found Jake's hand grabbing mine, squeezing it, and letting go.

***

   His jaws and sharp canines find themselves embedded deep into my upper thigh and I find myself pulled back into reality. I cannot allow myself to slip off into thoughts.  
I slip my fingers into his snout and pull his jaw apart just enough to yank my leg away from him. The only thought I have is to run.

  
My footsteps begin to pound against the forest floor. Jake's snarls follow me as I feel the black blood trailing down my left leg, the pain shocking my body and weakening my focus.

  
My legs begin to buckle underneath me, the cold air begins to be more apparent, and I begin to slow. A sudden rush of air sends me flying to the ground and I try to push myself up to no avail. Instead, I roll onto my back to see what had caused me to fall. A gray blur of feathers swoops down on Jake repeatedly, cornering him. His growl grows and he yelps when the thing falls onto his back. He is shoved to the ground and the gray blur takes off again, this time towards me. Roxy's arms envelope me and the air rushes through my hair once again. The trees turn into the dark blue sky littered with stars.

  
Time blurs our flight back into the house and sneaking back into our room into one. I seem to be fading in and out of consciousness as well, the blackness filling the holes in my memory. I feel the soft mattress underneath, hear the frantic muttering of a fallen angel, but I'm not there.

***

"Come on, bro! What's the fun in not dancing with the ladies?" Dave pouted at me. His red eyes looked young and his blond hair was pushed back into a small pony tail. His navy blue coat tails reached down to his knees. He looked better than a lot of gents, who were completely in style; we never did bother with the white wigs till afterwards.

  
"I would rather not, David. Father is not back yet and we both know how inappropriate it would be for us to go to a dinner party without a chaperon." Dave and I looked like twins in those days. My blond hair was pulled back just like his. I wore the same navy blue coat with coat tails that reached my knees. There were only three differences between us: I was 19 while he was only 16, I was about 5 inches taller, and my eyes were orange. As a result, most of London's upper class knew us as the Strider twins. We were devilishly handsome and the young ladies were often warned to stay away from us for particular reasons, but they never really did.

  
Dave smirked at this, his young eyes playful and teasing. "As if we're ever truly appropriate. Besides, you are technically an adult."

  
I chuckled at his remark; the kid was just too charming. "Alright, alright. Go bribe the head groom."

  
He grinned at me before jogging off to go do exactly that.

  
It wasn't long before we were on the bouncing ride on carriage, my horse Storm's hooves pounding against the dirt road. We were definitely a sight to behold against the falling night. The gasps that were heard when we arrived confirmed so.

  
The dinner party was lovely and lively. The table was decoratively furnished with candles and tassels. The silverware was only of the best, as well as the teacups. Young girls with their waists perfected by tight corsets wore elegant dresses that ranged in color from dark purple to pastel yellow. The food was served and everyone nibbled lightly with the casual chatter.

  
"Excuse me, Sir Strider." A dark voice asked. It was the head of the table whose name I can't frankly remember.

  
I looked to the voice while Dave continued to swoon a young brunette in peridot. They always preferred for me to answer as it was. "Yes Sir?"

  
"I can't help but notice that your parents are in absence. Do indulge me in the whereabouts of such." The deep voice answers.

  
I nod solemnly and throw on my most charming yet shy smile. "Oh yes, I must apologize for their absence. My father is currently on a hunting trip while my mother lay sick in bed. She sent my brother and I here to give you their sincere apologies." It was a lie and yet not. My father was on a hunting trip, but he was supposed to be back the night before. My mother wasn't sick; she had gone with him as she often did, though most who hear this are horrified.

  
The head of table and party nodded. "All is well. We are happy to at least have the heir of the Strider family here."

  
I once again acted as charmingly fake as I could, how I was constantly taught as a child. "No sir, it is my and my brother's pleasure to be here."

  
The head of the table laughed and began to talk to some other nobility.

  
The food was soon finished and David excused himself from the table, the young brunette following him. There was no doubt in my mind what the two planned on doing once they had completely snuck off. After all, our reputation was to ruin the pretty flowers of any young women we danced with. A couple of adults frown at the sight and I almost laugh. We were always a pleasure to have and yet we caused such trouble.

  
The party was soon moved to the ball room that was already lavishly decorated with banners of gold and chandeliers perfectly lit. I catch a sight of Dave and the brunette. _So they just ran off to dance_ , I guessed. It was one of those times I wished I knew what he was thinking.

  
The moon traveled farther into the sky and Dave and his brunette were no longer in sight. A blonde in a pretty pink dress had started up a conversation with me. She kept glancing between my eyes and the window, as if waiting for something.

  
"You look lovely tonight. What perhaps is your name?" I asked gently, looking for a reason to take her outside and see what she was waiting for.

  
It took her a moment to answer, almost like she didn't hear me. "Riley Smith. And thank you. You look rather dashing yourself."

  
I ignored her almost monotone voice. For once, it was the girl who was not interested in me. "You seem a bit distracted. Perhaps we should take this outside?"

  
She hesitated. It was obvious that she did not wish to go, but she nodded nonetheless. I offered Riley my arm and she took it.

  
Out in the garden, we sat underneath the stars near the lilac tree. The petals seemed to drift off the tree as if in welcome to our arrival. The small talk continued and she became more aware to me. She was asking question after question about myself and my life, what I liked to do, what I wished to do. "I would like to go into politics one day. Maybe become the next Plato."

  
She smiled beautifully at that and the night just continued.

  
Then came a scream and the sound of dainty shoes tapping against the ground that interrupted the night and the pleasant banter. I stood up and reached out for Riley's hand. "I apologize, but I do believe my brother has done something rather... Discouraging. If you would please excuse me, I must go."

  
She nodded, placing her small hand in mine. I bent down to plant a firm kiss on her hand and began to walk towards the noise.

  
The brunette ran past me and squealed something about a monster. I sighed and assumed that David had probably taken the wrong signal. Then again, he was rather good at what he did.

  
The sight that I met was unforgettable. His blond hair was smeared with blood and his clothes were tattered as if he tried to put up a fight. His body had lay limp in the arms of some man whose mouth sat unforgivably on my brother's neck. I froze, I wanted to shout, but the thing with its cold dark eyes looked up and I would not be fast enough.

***

"Dirk... Please... Please wake up."

  
At first, I think it is David, the first voice I woke up to after being just about killed by Bro, but then my surroundings start forming around me. The chair against the door that would probably do nothing to keep our siblings out, the soft glow of something gold that trailed from the window sill to the bed, and finally the small figure who laid her head on my chest.

  
I move my hand to her hair and smile softly, the taste in my mouth now apparent. "Roxy..."

  
Her head flicks up and she grins through her tears.

  
"I thought it was only a small bite until I saw the chunk he pulled out of your leg. There was so much blood just everywhere. And then he snagged his tooth on my side as I was distracting him and-" she tries to explain what happened through her tears.

  
I already could figure out what had happened. When I loosened Jake's jaw and pulled it out, my own strength ended up tearing away the skin that was still in his mouth. Vampires aren't immortal either. The reason why we need to constantly drink blood is because we need to keep some living substance inside of our dead shells to keep us living, but to have a chunk like that taken out and to have not fed as much as I should would be deadly.

  
"Shhhhhhh, it's okay." I say, pulling her into my arms. There's a slight aching in my thigh and I realize that she had bandaged it and everything. We had stayed in that position all night until 4 in the morning when her blond hair again tumbles onto my arm. A realization comes to mind and I shake the sleeping girl lightly.

  
"Roxy."

  
".... What?"

  
She sounds grungy and a bit peeved, but I again ignore her tone. "We have to warn Janet."

  
Her body almost seems to snap in half as she jumps up and out of bed. "Fuck! You're right!"

  
I stand up slowly, wincing at the shooting pain in my leg. _Who has been training Jake to fight?_

  
"I don't know." Roxy answers me out loud. "But Lord English has a trained assassin on his hands that knows how to deal with everything."

  
I nod. "Think you can fly us there? I don't know how well I can run now."

  
She smiles solemnly. "It would be my pleasure to."

  
Minutes later, we find ourselves at the footstep of John's door. It's no doubt in my mind that they're trying to kill him. Roxy knocks slightly and urgently. The old woman opens the door surprisingly quickly for her age. Her eyes widen at the state of both of us and she practically pulls me to the living room couch, almost ignoring the small winged girl.  
“Why are you even-“ _up_ is how Roxy was planning on finishing her question, but interrupts her too quickly.

  
“Never mind that now. What happened to you two?” Even though she asks about the two of us, I immediately understand that who she truly worries about is me. And so Roxy begins to explain my encounter with Jake.

  
"... And I'm sorry to tell you this, but we're both certain that he’s here for John." She finishes as Janet uses a bit of her magic to help heal my leg.

  
"It's a bit too deep to work perfectly, I worry." She mutters before addressing Roxy. "That is where I think you're wrong, Roxy. You're weak now and tired too, to say nonetheless. You have a vulnerability now, a powerful being that doesn't know how to work his powers, and as we both know, that is the most dangerous."

  
Roxy nods, her mind working quickly and effectively. She's planning a billion different situations, all in consideration of how to further protect both her makeshift family and John. She comes to one final conclusion. "So.... Keep him close, but not too close."

  
Janet agrees and then looks at her clock. How we had been there for an hour, I honestly have no clue. "John will be waking up soon, you must leave.”

  
Roxy thanks Janette and rushes me out the door. I still feel gazed and dizzy, but I don't think she cares too much. She tells me she does, but that the others cannot know the seriousness of it yet. Not yet. Telling them to early might send them into a premature attack and we could all lose.

  
I agree, roll my eyes. The events are just blurring by. At school, I can't tell one thought from the other and pretty much just lounge in the nurse's office all day. She urges me to go home, but I just shake my head and tell her I would be better by the next class. Roxy checks up on me constantly, but I'm so out of it I hardly notice.

  
Soon, the last bell rings and I escape the nurse's office, Roxy waiting for me outside. I wrap my arm around her and she is surprisingly strong enough to hold the majority of my weight.

  
We run into the kids soon and I put on my cool guy act, just barely able to respond. I hear something about walking John home and Rose's question of Roxy's reason for doing so. Even Jade and Dave are picking up on something going on. I begin to wonder what they had done when they discovered we had gone, when we never came back and were only to be seen at the end of the day. Roxy’s idea of keeping them out of the loop is useless and impossible. They deserve to know what possibly awaits them at every corner. We will to talk about it later. In the meantime though, only John is completely oblivious to the war that's starting right back up around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three band performances, a missing dog, and a stupid concussion later, I am relieved to give you guys this chapter. However, to be honest, I did struggle with it. I know that this is not as in character of Dirk as it probably should be and neither are any of the characters really, but I had to take into consideration how Dirk would be in this situation (a couple of thousands of years old and can read minds). As in the webcomic, Dirk is very quick at his thinking, but now he is taking in several thoughts at a time and is, as a result, left taking in a lot of information at one time, which is why it's very jumpy in the beginning. As you guys will continue to see in the future of this comic, Dirk is almost stuck between three realities: the past, the present, and other people's minds. I realize now that the characters might seem a bit off. So if any of you have some questions on what the heck is going on with a certain character, let me know and I'll try my best to explain in upcoming chapters (although there already is going to be a lot of jumping around from backstory to backstory and whatnot as there is). As always, thanks for reading and feedback is way more than welcome. See y'all precious readers sooner or later. 
> 
> Sidenote from EternalEpoch: hey so I'm going to rewrite the first few chapters I wrote after I'm done with the longfic for a different fandom I've been focusing on.


	15. Jade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since it's been a while for some us, a quick review is probably necessary. And so, in the previous chapter, we had finally heard parts of the story from Dirk's prospective in which he goes out and almost gets himself killed due to his purposeful run-in with Jake English. During which time, it is hinted at that the beta kids (well, the three of them that are aware of supernatural powers right now) are catching on to something going on. Meanwhile, the stress upon Roxy is beginning to show as Lord English and his pawns may finally be wearing her down to her last straw. Now, I provide you with a lovely chapter in the prospective of our own werewolf, Jade Harley, who, if you ask me, notices too much. ;)

Breathing in the woodsy air, the wild undergrowth crackling and crunching beneath me, I stopped briefly to admire the pine smell and the cooing of the woodland creatures. With my head tilted up, I failed to see the starry sky, but I smiled anyways at the green forage overhead. To be one with such nature is to feel fresh after a thorough minty brushing of the teeth or even devouring just enough of the family's secret recipe sugar cookies at grandma's house. It just feels right.

Pawing at the soft ground, I grinned and battered my eyelashes to the quiet darkness. It had rained recently, enough to leave the dirt packed tightly and still damp. Enough to have brought out the forest animals, especially the birds with their quirky tunes.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

I threw my head back casually, flashed a giant smile, and sped off into the forest. With the whooshing of a birds' wings, the clattering of the skittering ground animals, the rustling of the hidden creatures within the gentle foliage, and the sudden, light pounding of heavy paws, the peace of the kingdom had been disrupted.

A slight sigh had escaped my lips as the thought of the disruption had briefly saddened me. However, it was quickly forgotten as the thrill of the hunt began to excite me. Well, more like the thrill of being hunted.

Thump, thump, thump. The sound of both my own steps and my heart sounded in my ear. I had faintly heard the bouncing of my predator as he trailed silently behind me. I caught a small whiff of lilac and campfire as the foe not only caught up, but tried to jump me from in front. A sharp turn in a few seconds sends me bounding in the other direction. A low-pitch whining filled the trees instantly. I had tried not to laugh.

Despite this, the howling chuckles rolled off my tongue as I suddenly collapsed to the ground. A slobbering tongue hung out of the panting creature's mouth as its fat body caused my lungs to collapse slightly. I nudged it out of the way gently, rubbing my paw off on his coat. Jake rolled off of me, placing his paw between my ears: His way of saying better luck next time. A brief, sudden nausea passed over me as I sat there cross legged in the fallen leaves, my chin then resting on my palm.

"What a cheater." I stuck my tongue out slightly at the young man that now sat across from me.

"I was going to tell you golly good job, but if you prefer to be that way, _ma'am_." He flashed his canines at me, a supposedly threatening gesture that just made him look silly. I threw myself backward, the crisp leaves crunched upon impact. Another crunch meant that Jake had done the same.

"How'd you even get that fast?"

"Practice, Jadsey. You'll get a hand of it one day."

"One day, you'll be like me, young snipper snapper.'" I mocked him.

He gave the trees a double pistol and a wink that I knew to be really meant for me. "One day, young grasshopper."

I laughed, I truly laughed. For a moment, it felt odd. Then, a tear seeped down my cheek. And then another and another. With a slight sniffle, I rubbed it away.

"Jadesy, what's the matter?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, tears rolling down my cheeks. Jake propped himself on an elbow on his side, an ancient concern on his face.

I missed him. I missed my brother and his quirky words, the accent that he never lost. I missed his obsession with the blue water nymphs that would interrupt us in the forest. I missed his quaint scent of lilac and campfire.

I blinked and I found myself quickly to my feet. I watched in horror as the familiar scene exploded in front of me. My younger, seven-year-old-self tottered across the yard, his name on her lips. She trotted gently into the same forest, the one she and Jake had often explored and even built a tree fort in. The scream that had escaped her lips as she found him covered in blood had brought back painful memories. I froze as I examined the scene from an older standpoint. He would have been okay afterward; there was no reason for me to ever freak out.

He turned away suddenly, not at all how I remember my wounded brother. He began to race away as a scream exploded through my throat.

"Jake! Don't go after her! Jake! Please stay!"

***

Last night's dream haunts me silently as I shuffle my feet against the crowded sidewalk. I catch Dave's eyes as he glances at me cautiously; Dirk's eyes meet mine as well. Unlike Dave, he quickly looks away. Roxy and John are happily chattering away, something about a shared cinema interest. Rose is voluntold to be John's project partner. While he graciously tells her that she doesn't need to, she agrees nonetheless. Something's amiss amongst the group and last night's escapades definitely had to do with it.

After waking up to Dave's soothing voice, the scent of my own brother had been unmistakable. I had tried to go after it, especially since both Roxy and Dirk had been missing. I did catch up to him. He had glanced towards me in pain. I whimpered loudly as I had finally become quick enough, but he was still quicker. He soon disappeared into the dark foliage, his retreating black tail flicking once in the moonlight.

I glance back to Dirk, eyeing him suspiciously. This morning, our home stunk like a slaughter house (more than it usually does), and he does seem to be a tad bit paler. His heels lightly drag against the concrete as he walks, and despite her nonchalant ways, it seems as if something is bothering Roxy. Although, that could be the whole Jake thing too, but I'm not sure.

"Hey Jade, you okay?"

I snap myself out of that train of though and smile widely. "Absolutely, why do you ask?" John shrugs at me, "your face was just all scrunched up."

Dave slightly chuckles beside me, and I feel like I should be embarrassed of being so caught up in my thoughts, but then, I just shrug it off. "Oh, yeah, that happens sometimes."

Dave presses his fist to my shoulder, his way of fake punching. "Wow, Jade, if you keep thinking like that, you're going to get wrinkles like Rose."

Rose seems unfazed from the insult. Instead, she chuckles coolly. "On the other hand, if you cease to continue to do so, you'll join the population of the race that do not think. Although, it does appear that your boy toy already has."

"Rose-" Roxy pitches, suddenly aghast. It's easy to see that she was trying to hide the pride behind her falsely discouraging tone.

Dirk snickers and quickly interrupts her. "It's all good, Rox. She's only stating the painfully obvious."

Roxy snorts in response, and most of us join in.

When the chortle pauses to take a breath, John adds in his own question. "Are you sure you're not all related?"

"Oh god, I hope not." Roxy grins at him and the chorus of laughter continues.

Throughout the roar of the nothing short of brief laughter, I seem to completely forget what ails me. The fog lifts from our group for only a moment so that we could once again relish what we now and always have had. Glowing moments such as this are sweet and sharp, like a staccato note amongst the agonizing chords.

"Well, this is my stop, I guess." John smiles sheepishly.

Roxy beams at the window and I glance quickly in that direction to see the ruffling of the curtain and a smear of grey hair.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Rose looks happy as she gives him a gentle wave.

"Stay safe." Roxy waves rather ferociously compared to her sister.

John giggles at that and the door closes behind him.

With the soft click, Roxy visibly relaxes and actually looks exhausted for once. Dirk seems to practically collapse onto her shoulder, but her tiny little legs seemed to hold him just fine. Rose stares at the two who suddenly seem so flimsy. Dave moves quickly from my side to pull Dirk's weight onto him.

Roxy sighs in relief and pulls her arms up above her head in a stretch, the edges of her jacket revealing the tips of her grey feathers. "Oh, why thank you. I may be tough, but man, can your brother be a heavy weight."

"What happened?" I ask softly.

"And why?" Rose adds, just a tad bit more commanding than myself.

"I mean, I'd love to tell you, I do, but seriously, right about now, we're a bunch of weirdos creepily stalking John. So I say we can skedaddle or you know, continue to be absolute creeps." Roxy giggles gently, her girly play still hiding her true emotions.

'For everyone, but your favorite Strider.'

We begin to walk in silence as I allow Dave to entertain me with his weirdo powers.

'Alright, favorite Strider. Please, prove your worth.’

‘Alright, so I’m getting a sort of anxious vibe, but it’s like a blend with excitement, horror, sadness, and… pride? It’s all thrown together and so shaken up, it’s like trying to test the vanilla in a Neapolitan milkshake. A.K.A. Not happening.’

‘And Dirk?’

‘Oh, yeah, that guy. He’s mostly confused and in pain, lots of pain.’

‘Like I couldn’t tell by just looking at his face, cool guy.’

‘Well, hang onto the sarcasm there, princess. You know us Strider boys are hard to read.’

‘I thought that meant you were supposed to be an open book? Like a fair exchange of information.’

‘Well, maybe for the big guy and Roxy here; Girl can waltz around his mind and then square dance back if she wanted to. But I’m not as bad. Ohhhh, big deal, I can know how you’re feeling, even though it’s kind of obvious. I mean, if you’re laughing, you’re happy. If you’re crying, then hey, what do you know? You’re sad. Here’s a fucking award. No, wait, a billion dollars and a Nobel Prize award for being an absolute genius.’

‘Whoa, boy. This is not the time for self-deprecating thoughts. Let’s just breathe.’

‘Yeah, yeah, you’re right… And so’s Roxy. God, he weighs a ton. I think Dirk’s had a glass too many orange juices.’

“A man… Can never have too much orange juice, Dave… I thought you knew that.” Dirk grunts.

Dave chuckles. “Damn you… How much have you heard?”

“Just that last part, everything’s still hazy.” He grins at his little brother, who just shakes his head in response.

“It is hard to ignore your absent staring. One would think that after so many years, you would figure out how to handle your mental conversations inside your blessed little minds and then still be able to partake in such things, outside of your lovey dovey conversations.” Rose pauses in her irritated thoughts, something she often does to get the sort of writer’s effect of withholding information. “It wouldn’t be that hard to believe that these two,” she motions dramatically to the skipping go-happy Roxy and the groaning, pale Dirk, “Are doing the same thing, but instead, like the responsible adults they are.”

Roxy scoffs at that. “What? Me? Responsible? How scandalous!” She pauses for a moment, and I suddenly don’t need a rubber band to remember that it’s a Lalonde thing. “Besides,” she poises her lips into a pout. “I can’t exactly hear him right now.”

The scuffing of the feet against the cold pavement seems apparent now, the slight push and pull of the breeze on the blonde hair upon Dave’s head. The indent of his bottom lip shows he’s biting the inside of his lip. His eyes point down, towards his feet. _One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four._ He softly mutters under his breath, so soft he isn’t even aware he does it. I’ve asked.

The group is so quiet that only the hushed sound of Dirk’s soft breathing is heard amongst the walking dead. There is no rapid, pounding noise in his chest cavity. His breathing is forced; a sort of natural response Dirk has to stressful situations. He told me once that breathing calmed him down, helped him clear his mind.

There are light bruises under Rose’s eyes. She hasn’t been sleeping again. She digs her fingernails into her palm and then releases while her tongue softly ticks against the roof of her mouth. I have found that she does this whenever she’s lost in thought.

Heel, toe, pointed toe, heel, toe, pointed toe. The slight bounce in Roxy’s step doesn’t add much to her height. However, after so much time, it could have become a habit. She holds her hands behind her back, which makes her look like a bored school girl. As she tip-toes her path along the sidewalk, she leaves grey footprints on the concrete, a color change so small that only trained eyes would be able to see it. I haven’t asked her about it yet; I’m sure it’s nothing.

I throw my green eyes up to the sky with a slight smile. Breathing in the fresh scent of the nearby pines, I close off the world for a moment. Silent times like these are ones that I often long for. Not because of the saddening situation or the awkwardness, but because of the mere beauty of the world, the habits of others that they don’t even know. I pull my hat snuggly onto my head, take a deep breath, and pull myself together. Getting lost in thought and going off on wild daydreams is just something that I do.

Roxy spins around as she steps onto the porch. “Alright, peeps, this is how it’s going to go down. Imma grab a drink.” Dirk raises his eyes to meet hers with such ferocity that it seems as if he’s mentally burning her. However, she continues without missing a beat. “Annnnd then, we’re gonna meet up in the attic for some pillow feels. Okay? Okay.”

The events that follow seem like the normal routine. Roxy skips daintily into the grand foyer and quickly takes off her jacket to hang it over the closest staircase rail. Her grey feathers caught in the fold of her skirt, she places one inside her waist band to untuck the trapped ones. Rose continues by and plucks up the jacket as she ascends the staircase to her own room, where either pages of rustling would be heard or the continuous scratching of pen upon paper. As for Dave, Dirk, and I, we sling our backpacks into a pile on the floor. Most likely, they won't be touched until tomorrow morning at which point we'll quickly speed through the assigned homework and maybe even have time for breakfast. I sling Dirk's other arm over my shoulder and we carry him over to the couch, though on normal days, he would probably head into the kitchen first and then waltz his sly way over to his sword room.

I watch nonchalantly as Roxy finds her way through a recently-made hole in the wallpapered wall and then look over to Dave as we settle down on the floor, resting our backs on the edge of Dirk's sofa.

"So..." Dave starts with his awkward smile.

"So." I return the favor.

Dirk groans from behind us. "God, I didn't even think you two ever talked."

Dave snickers as he slides his arm around my shoulder. "And I didn't know you and Roxy could be together for five minutes without being all over the other. Like, damn, usually, we need a fucking fire extinguisher to cool you two down.”

I glance behind us to see the corner of Dirk's mouth pull up, revealing one of his dimples. Of course, the things that these two say are exaggerations, another one of the "Strider-off's" as I call them. Of course, Dave and I actually move our mouths to talk whenever need be, and Roxy and Dirk can go quite a while within each other's presence without snogging the hell out of the other.

"No, we don't." Dave and Dirk laugh at the same time, though one sounds more raspy than the other.

"Someone's feeling better." I smile, rolling my eyes at their apparent dorkiness. Dirk shrugs. "Kind of. It's like an old fashioned radio and the dial's turned to the point where you can hear some of what's being said and then between that, there's that annoying as all hell static."

"Poor Dirksy poo fell down and broke his crown." Dave coos at his older brother.

"Jadesy, if you would be a darling." Dirk wears a weak, yet smug smile.

I pause for a moment at the sound of that nickname, but recover quickly enough to punch Dave in the arm as hard as I can without wasting a single second.

"Harley!" Dave grabs his arm and feigns his shock. "How could you betray me like that?" When I shrug with a similar smirk to Dirk's, he continues melodramatically. "My heart, it shatters into a million pieces as I stare into my murderer’s eyes, the very one that I once loved. I had been betrayed by her, and my brother nonetheless. My life is over. I have no will to live.”

“Alright, Juliet. Go into theater or something and leave your drama out of here.” Roxy grins as she leans over the edge of the couch, a glass filled with red liquid in her hands. Dirk frowns slightly at that for a brief moment, but then smiles, as though relieved at her appearance.

“My heart, it bursts upon the sight of the most glorious angel I have ever seen, the hotness of her very presence is enough to send it a flutter.” Dirk mocks his little brother.

“Well, aren't you the poet?” She smiles, brushing back the single strand of Dirk’s hair that had fallen into his face with her unoccupied hand.

Dave’s eyes meet mine and it doesn't take a psychic link to be in sync. _Disgusting._

Roxy rolls her eyes at nothing in particular and takes a swig. For a brief moment, Dave and I believe it is our own opinions on the show of affection. However, if Dirk’s radio signal really is down (sort of), it could have been his own thoughts that made her do so. Nevertheless, Roxy shrugs it off and pretends it didn't happen.

“So what're you three still doing down here? I believe there is a pillow fort that is just dying to be your home.” She grins, bouncing up on her toes.

“You're already done building that thing?” Dave raises an eyebrow.

“And there's enough room for all of us this time?” Dirk copies his brother. The similarities are astonishing.

Roxy does a flick of her wrist, a _you guys really have no trust in me_ sort of thing. “I am hurt; do you really believe I would do such a thing?”

“Last time, you made it too small in the rush of things and we had to sit on the floor while you got to play Queen.” Dirk interjects with the slight shake of his head.

“Last time was very literally almost the end of the world.” Roxy crosses her arms and uses them as support against the couch instead, the remains of her cup swishing.

“You were complaining about there being nothing to do.” He smiles teasingly at her

“Exactly, so I held a melodramatic meeting and pretended to be the prosecutor of the missing remote case.” Roxy smirks with an air of cockiness.

“Hey, don't get me wrong, cause I love watching you two interact, but since this is actually kind of important for once, shouldn't we head up to the attic?” I point out to the two old souls as they stare at each other like newborns.

“Or y’know, we could just have the meeting here.” Dave adds in, the sly smile turning his lips up towards the ceiling.

Roxy looks shocked as she abruptly stands up straight. “What? No! That takes the fun out of it. Let me just finish this.” Against her used-to-be code of drinking, she chugs the last of the glass and places it on the inactive fireplace beside the lounging area. “Come on, Dirky.” She then hops gracefully over to him and leans over us to pick him up bridal style. She chuckles under her breath. Again, another mental conversation we miss out on.

‘Now, we know how Rose feels.’

‘Now, that's just uncalled for, Strider.’

The trip up the stairs is quick, the pounding beat of our feet resounding in the air. I stop briefly to rap against her door and Rose responds with her classic _coming_ from the room above me, instead of the one she was just in, “why thank you, Jade. You know how I love to beat you in races.” As I roll my eyes at her and her teleportation magic, I pull myself up the ladder and into the attic.

The room is large and dusty. Spiders litter the ceiling and their webs seem to dominate even the tiniest nook and cranny. Cluttered boxes and rat-infested holes find themselves here and there. The locked chest omits its ever mysterious feeling of hidden treasure and wild adventures. The mirror in the corner is caked in dust, a recent handprint shows off its delicate design. Several old stained glass windows decorate the wooden walls. The floor seems to creak eerily with every step taken. The whole attic oozes of the stereotypical, old, and creepy movies in which someone always encounters a ghost. Despite that fact, in the middle of the large, seemingly empty room is a bunch of bright red pillows. The complex structure somehow stands as pillow upon pillow are stacked upon each other. The only problem is that the fort seems tiny, too small for even one of us to fit.

‘This seems promising.’

I look back to Dave who treads so lightly I tend to forget that he's with me. Glancing around the room, it seems like this is the only exit within the room. Unless Rose decided to teleport back out of the room for absolutely no reason.

“Might as well give it a try.” I mutter as I bend down to crawl into the small opening within the pillow fort.

Once inside, I try not to gasp and fight the urge to run back outside to compare sizes. Roxy grins at me from her spot on the floor, a gold somewhat dusty lamp lying beside her. “Bigger on the inside, I know. But not too big, I still want it to be nice and squished. Feels, y'know?”

Beside her, Dirk is sprawled comfortably on the blanket floor with an extra pillow placed gently under the bend of his knee. Rose is placed elegantly beside him, her eyes quickly flittering around, absorbing all of her surroundings that she can. Dave scuffles in behind me and stops briefly as I had done.

‘Is this Gallifreyan technology?’

‘Your nerd is showing.’ I find my spot next to Roxy and Dave does the same to me, trying to avoid the knowingly accusing glances of his brother, whose radio had, of course, picked up upon the Doctor Who reference.

“Now, I bet you're wondering why I have gathered you all here.” Roxy grins. Obviously, she has been waiting to use that one for forever. However, as we remain to stare quietly, she drops her childish act and flexes out her wrists awkwardly. “Well, I suppose I should tell you…” Her tone goes blank, empty, lifeless, a dozen adjectives could be used to describe just how bleak her voice suddenly became. “As you may already know or even be slightly aware since we were being sort of obvious, Dirk went after Jake last night, who had allured him using his manly charms and the chance of Jake returning.” My heart thuds at the very thought of that; I didn’t even know of the ploy and I chased after him. I have no doubt that Dirk could not have resisted that attempt, even if he knew that Jake was planning on just about ending his life.

“He encountered the fallen beast just on the outskirts of town, deep within the forest. As you can also see, the genius also almost got himself killed when, as painstakingly obvious as it was, had been faking his wanna-be new alliance and tried to tear his knee cap off.” For the last sentence or two, Roxy fills her voice with venom. In response, Dirk frowns, his mouth slightly opening to speak and then closing as he decides otherwise. And so Roxy continues on with her explanation. “Which in itself, brings about the insecurity of just how close the enemy is. I mean, we’ve had our skirmishes throughout the year. Running in’s here and there, getting our asses kicked and then turning around and kicking theirs. The problem here, though, is that it seems as if they're here to stay. Not to mention, there’s already been an incident involving a mortal. Though seeing his lineage and who his grandfather is,” Roxy tries to ignore Rose’s sudden rustle, her fingers tapping against the soft, patterned floor, “it isn't hard to see why he would particularly be targeted. However, there is the matter of a witchy healer grandmother that has and will continue to take care of him. So here's the real number one question: what on earth, in the whole universe, and even the entirety of my being, do we do?”

The silence suddenly sinks in. What do we do? We’ve been playthings for thousands of years; if the almighty Overlord of Hell wanted us dead, we would be, no matter how strong we are together. Except we’re still alive. So the next question is _why? Why keep unpleasant bugs alive while you could just continue to rule with an iron fist?_

Dave shifts his eyes to me. _There it is, the one question no one wants to ask._ He knows this, of course, as he reaches out gently for my hand and purses his lips as if wanting to say something as his own brother had done earlier. With a small shake of the head, he closes his mouth and no one seems to notice that he was even going to say anything.

“You see, this is my problem. What am I… No, sorry… what are any of us going to do? I just wish…” Roxy breaks off, her tiny body quivering. No one says anything. Brief moments like these are again scarce, though they seem to be a reoccurring phenomenon lately. Happy go lucky Roxy, kick ass whenever she wants Roxy, sweet and slightly not innocent Roxy… She's not as strong as seems to be, not as unbreakable. In times like these, the emotional wall crashes down and she shows her true self. Her bottom lip quivers as she digs her fingernails into her fist. Closing her eyes, the air around her feels stiff, unnatural, and dark. Fighting back tears, she's the most vulnerable that any of us had seen her be in a while. Dirk reaches over to wrap his arm around her, but she shakes him off. With a sudden change of demeanor, she stands up. Her voice is full of wrath. As if leading an army to revolution, she chooses her words with little disdain that could easily rile up any of the masses. Ferocity and anger pushes her to fight, and fight she will.

“Fuck it, here's what we’re gonna do. Fuck Lord English and all of his god damn servants. I don't care what they do. If they attack, we’ll fight, but we do it cautiously. I'm not losing another one of you, got it? And while we’re at it, let's show him what real hell is!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, guys. It's time for both of our favorite parts of this fanfiction: The part where I stand up and let you know how I'm feeling, what's going on, and of course, promises to eventually get another chapter up soon. So let's begin with simply this. It is great, in fact wonderful, to be back here. I'll be honest that it was touch and go for a while there and in all reality, I started writing this chapter about 3 weeks ago even though Chapter 14 seems oh so long ago. But you guys are awesome, and the simple fact that there are still people digging around in the archives or what not (hopefully looking for the my weird and wacky OTP) and still are deciding to give this a chance is pretty inspiring in itself. On second look and Imma try to keep this author's note short because I don't even feel like reading this, I probably gave away some things on where exactly this fic is going in the chapter summary, especially since I didn't even pull up the last chapter for reference, but instead, went off the top of my head and probably said something I shouldn't (or of course, it could all be in my imagination, take your pick). And so, with that piece of information and you probably wondering "why does Roxy have bigger on the inside technology" or even "why is there a giant chest in the attic" (HINT: t's not for Gamzee), I thank you guys again for reading this. As always, likes, comments, concerns, and whatever else you feel like sharing are more than welcome. Enjoy the rest of your day. :)


	16. Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All the flashbacks... Also, JohnRose

“Close your eyes.” 

These simple words with his devilish charms were the key to my demise. His buck-toothed grin said it all with an etiquette that only he could devise. Those sterling blue eyes held my own as I practically melted on the inside. I was an idiot.

It was the 1920’s, 1930’s, some time around then. World War One had just ended with the surrender of the Japanese and the United States’ economy was booming, though it wouldn’t be in about another ten years with the Great Depression and World War Two. Of course, any genius could've picked up a history book and figured that out. However, it was around this time that we had decided to settle down… Again. And what other place would be better than in the little mining town of Vine Maple Valley or even the mansion we had abandoned several times throughout the years? It's almost uncanny how we keep ending up here.

So, Sassacre’s mansion had again become our home, even though the caretakers of the place had long since been there. We were in his old study, shuffling through old tomes upon tomes. The dusty things were thick and decaying. Time had certainly done its toll upon them. I was searching through an old Norse one, detailing some dark hero that was destined to do some crazy thing. It was then that he had said this to me. I looked up patiently, that love-stricken grin on my face. It was then that I decided to be a wise ass: “Close my eyes? And miss the handsome man in front of me?”

He had chuckled quietly and sweetly. “Well, if you close your eyes, I won't disappear before them.” At that, I had decided to humor him. With my eyes shut, the rustling of his hands and his quiet muttering of some cheesy spell seemed more apparent. A couple of seconds later, he simply said, “you can open them now.”

The sight that had been set before me then was remarkably similar to the sight that faced me now. Jonathan Sassacre Charles, who had insisted on being calling “Sassacre”, had held out a beautiful rose bunch, his dorky smile plastered onto his lips. Now, his grandson, Johnathan Sassacre Egbert, holds out my gel pen, the dorky smile still there after two generations. 

I shake the image out of my head as I accept the pen from him. It doesn't take a therapist to know that seeing someone’s dead grandfather in them isn't in the slightest bit creepy. “Thanks.”

He responds with the normal, “you're welcome.” And the project continues on. Pens and papers are shuffled around on the living room floor. We both take turns typing up our needed information for the board, which sits idly on the coffee table. There are bursts of small talk here and there, the kind one usually has whenever working on a project together. Somewhere along the line, we begin discussing all of crazy controversies that surround Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which had been the main reason we had chosen this particular play. It is not long for the discussion to become an “educated” argument. His words are clear and precise, his face scrunched as he finds his words, the pencil bouncing gently in his hands. I avoid the subject of actually once being Shakespeare’s prodigy or even that his plays were much better in the original old English, that he was a clever guy and the translations ruin his quirks. As a result, I let him win. The small grin on his face reveals his inner thoughts. He’s not used to winning and is proud of it. He feels smart, a bit confident. For a brief moment, I felt bad. If he only knew…

***

It was in the late 30’s and World War 2 was brewing, the threat of communism on everyone's minds. Even ours. I'll admit that it was a bit odd and perhaps a bit premature of us for such mystical beings to be discussing something so political, but it just so happened that, at the time, we were. 

He had said something about communism being a great idea, and I, being the smarty pants that I usually am, felt the need to correct him, to start an argument. This was always something that I’ve done, but I had been doing it more and more often around that time. I say it’s because I am unsocialized, a kind introvert that can be extrovert, but prefers not to. Roxy says it’s because I feel the need to be better than someone, especially after living in the shadows of such renowned creatures. She does not know what she is talking about. Whatever the reason really is, I had to. And so, I numbered off every little thing wrong with communism, a bunch of reasons why everything would go wrong.

“... Not to mention, knowing the natural way of humanity, someone is going to take over the happy-go-lucky fun time that the socialization would present and ruin it for the nature of humanity is that they are snotty, greedy beings that only want, want, want. They are corrupted by power easily, and any human government would quickly turn your ‘great idea’ into a murderous dictatorship.” I had finished my long speech when I realized that I was starting to become out of breath, too involved in my own opinion. Sassacre had sat there with a look that John had just had on his face. His mouth was drawn into a thin line, fascinated by the fight I had put up with no aggregation. His middle finger tapped on the armrest of the couch as he contemplated all that I said. His eyes were the only difference between John and Sassacre’s gestures; they twinkled dangerously, as if he might explode like I did to him.

He did not though and exhaled quite loudly. He had spoken very calmly. “Darling, you misunderstand. I had said the idea of communism was wonderful, but it is a utopia, as in it is not possible. You and I both seem to understand where such a desired way of living would lead.” When I nodded, suddenly bashful, He continued. “Humanity is charming in that way, don’t you think? So innocent and ambitious, yet so selfish and destructive…” He had his way with words.

***

“Rose? Rose?” John waves his hand in front of my blank stare and I shake myself out of the memory from long ago. I smile at him apologetically, and he continues on awkwardly. “Weeeeell, as I was saying, do you want it here or here? Because I'll be honest when I say that I don't know what I'm doing and you seemed like you wanted it a certain way?” 

A chuckle finds its way out of my mouth. “Weeeeeell,” I responded quite teasingly, “it is just the board, so hopefully you know how to use glue.” 

He gets that expression on his face, the one that I can use no other description than the one look someone gets when they throw a pillow or a stuffed animal at your face. I'm sure if John had something else close to him other than pens, a ruler, markers, adhesives, a board, and a bunch of papers, he surely would have thrown it at me. “Rose, you know what I mean!” He looks aghast at me, a mix between irritation and enjoyment, “Where do you want the papers to go?” 

I give him a snarky grin, along my reply. “Hopefully, on the board.”

He groans loudly at me. I may have been wrong; he might just try to use a pen as a throwing spear. “Rooooose, please.”

I'm about to give up and be nice to him by just telling him how I want all the papers to fit on the board when a loud crash echoes into the living room, followed by a short burst of yelling.

I glance at the empty doorframe that led into the foyer questioningly. I had spent an entire half-hour meticulously explaining to them that they had to be quiet and keep it on the downlow. I had given them so many points of what not to do and how not to do it; hell, I even told them not to set the shower on fire! (Even though, it was hilarious the first time we managed to do so…) 

I take a deep breath and smile.  _ Let it go, Rose. Let it go, it's no big deal. _ John raises his eyebrow in questioning, and I know this is one of those times where I shouldn't miss a beat. So, I make sure that I don't. I wave my hand nonchalantly, “don't worry about that. One of Roxy’s cats must have knocked something over and its contents spilled out. I'm sure they'll be fine.” The last sentence was for them more than it was for John because knowing them, this isn't going to be the last time they make a really loud noise and if they make enough of them, I'm going to turn them into frogs and they will spend the rest of the day in the pond.

“Oh, okay… How many cats does she have?” John asks politely, not quite focused enough to put glue on a board or perhaps trying to put off actually finishing the project.

I open my mouth to answer, but then I freeze.  _ I don't know how many cats that woman has; she's got more than I can count, and even if I could, new ones show up every week. _

He catches on to why I paused. “You don't know?” He begins to laugh, “Jeez, is Roxy one of those crazy cat ladies?”

I nod, afraid he would find it a little weird, but he just goes with the flow, an admirable trait in itself. 

“Woooow… I have an aunt who's like that. She's that one relative that you never want to visit, but always have to go to anyways. And then when she opens the door, the first thing she does is squeeze your cheeks and then the cat odor hits you and you look down to see like five pairs of their beady little eyes staring at you.” He babbles on, making small gestures with his hands as he speaks.

I laugh, imagining the relatable and perfect picture that he had painted. “I believe everyone unfortunately has one of those in their family. If they're extremely unlucky and the universe hates you, you’ll have two or more.” I pause for the added comedic effect. “Or if you're so unlucky that you can't even leave your house without a leprechaun prancing away due to your lack of said luckiness, then you're like me and you live with one.”

He snickers in response. “Poor Rose, I’d offer you to move in with me, but I don’t think a crazy old lady who is way too invested in your life is any better!”

Together, we chortle, and I’m happy, the kind of happy where one feels comfortable in another’s presence and they feel comfortable in an equal amount. When I catch my breath, I review his comment. “You know, she probably just cares more about you than you think.”

John pauses gawkily. “I mean, of course Nanna does. She’s the one that decided to send me to public school in the first place. She wanted me to make actual friends rather than those in my movies and the few online ones that I’ve managed to find…”

The fun repartee suddenly becomes serious as I understand what he is saying.  _ Though look where that got me; I was bullied, attacked. I’m still a freak that sees ghosts…  _ I try to say something: no more clever remarks, but instead, a quiet reminder:  _ You met us.  _

And then, it hits me, why John was ever sent to public school. His grandmother knows something. That idea seems improbable in itself, but Roxy always loved the girl, claimed her to be a fast learner, and even shared a few secrets of her own. Roxy was basically her second mother after Sassacre had died, so of course, that had to count for something. This practically ensures that she had to have known something, seen something in her voo-doo crystal ball or the tea leaves, had a vision, something. 

As the silence grows between me and John, I continue to be lost in thought, considering all the possibilities. Perhaps she knew that Jake was going to attack John and he would have needed help. Perhaps she wanted help in training the young boy in his ghost-based abilities. Perhaps she just wanted to reach out to us and allow her grandson to be given the comfort that we had once given her in times of loss. Maybe she was just sick of having him lie around the house and procrastinate on all of his school work. Perhaps he was failing homeschool because he had no available teachers and she couldn’t help because it had been ages since she even took any of the classes… Or the craziest one of them all, which made more sense to me than any of them.

_ She can’t protect him… _

Why did this make so much sense to me? What would she even have to protect him from? I struggle with this thought for a moment. John did seem to attract a lot of supernatural attention; all of the ghosts, Jake, us…. He even met Vriska. I think he is clumsy, but he still managed to get attacked by one of English’s minions. Roxy pays special attention to him; she somehow saved him from Jake and she continues to set new precautions to protecting him. This project, walking him home, she even adopted him into the group upon first sight. I consider briefly the possibility of his grandma asking her to keep an eye on him. Roxy _ is _ the type to completely go overboard on such things. However, it just didn’t seemed right… Like there’s still something that is rubbing me the wrong way about this…

John shuffles uncomfortably, and I put a pause on this thought as I understand what is bothering him. Looking again at the ever ominous doorframe, I can clearly hear muffled arguing. It’s loud enough to notice, but not loud enough to understand, much like a constant buzz. I shuffle awkwardly as well. I probably am going to give them an earful later, but for now, I have to cover up for them, and so I shrug lightly, mumbling just loud enough for him to hear me. “Dave must have taken Dirk’s iphone charger again…”

John seems satisfied with that reason. “So where do you want these?” He holds up a couple of papers and seems truly lost. As a result, I run through my idea with him, how this paper should be tilted like this and how these should surround this picture to create the illusion of a bubble map or a spider web. 

Watching him paste the board together, I analyze his movements and continue on with my thoughts, finding a different approach.  _ Say, you do need our protection from whatever, why are they after you? Who even are you?  _ I began to go over all the facts I know in my head. His name is John Egbert, no doubt named after his great-grandfather, John Sassacre Charles. He’s a possible ghost seeker/keeper while his cousin, Jane, is a ghost keeper, a rather powerful one at that too. His presence seems to command any supernatural entity by his side. He was attacked by Lord English. He seems old at times, aged to the point of no return. Other times, he’s his goofy, clumsy self…

He continues to ask questions about the placement of things, as if knowing how persnickety I am about how I want it. With small quips, I hand him different papers to place here and there. We work efficiently together; I don’t find myself scolding him for screwing around and ruining processes like Dave always does. Nor do I find myself awkwardly watching Dirk put it together in his silent way or even having to deal with Roxy’s social attitude about projects while I do all the work. Not even working with Jade seems as in sync as we are now.

I suddenly realize who he truly is. 

John has to be the new reincarnation of his great-grandfather. The range of his true powers are unknown, but I still get that wise feeling from him, which is such a different feeling with his mainly goofball personality. The timeline fits in as well. Sassacre died in 1949, which was 65 years ago. Assuming John is 16 (which I am almost certain that he is), it is about 49 years between the period of time that Sassacre died and that John was born. What’s more is that he seems to receive Roxy well enough to consider her his friend while she seems to gravitate towards him, something that she always does to Sassacre. The solution is so obvious that I begin to doubt myself on why I had not figured it out sooner. 

Finally finished, John picks up the board, only to reveal several pieces of paper that had concealed themselves from the enemy that was planning to constrict them. “Dammit… I don’t think there’s any more room on the board either…” His eyes meet my mine, mostly in frustration and desperation. Knowledge of who he really is suddenly makes the experience more than just a friend looking for solace, and I can feel my cheeks going slightly red.

***

It was a cold winter morning in 1944. In several days time, the Battle of the Bulge would begin, and John would go on about how terrible human beings are. However, until then, he was pretty intent with himself. Every once in awhile, he would go on some long tangent, but for today, he seemed quiet in the terms of critization. 

Stepping outside, he had decided to go on a walk and had invited me with him. The snow was just beginning to stick to the ground as we wandered wordlessly. Swerving on this road to go onto another, his description of a good walk seemed untraditional. Eventually, I became curious if he was trying to take me somewhere and didn't want me to know where until last minute, or if he himself didn't know exactly where he was going.

“Sassacre, where are we going to?” I had asked, naive and unable to keep my patience up for much longer. 

He goofily grins. “To be honest, Rosey Darling, I don't even know.”

I didn't stop or even pause. It seemed symbolic to me, that the soul, the so old and wise soul, was wandering without a cause. He wasn't lost; he was free, free to go wherever he wished. 

He winked at me, “though I do feel like taking a stroll through the woods. What do you say?”

I smiled mischievously. “Well, sir, I suppose I wouldn't mind a nice stroll through the woods.”

“As long as we don't run into the big, bad wolf, right?” He nudged me playfully.

I laughed in response. “Of course, though I'd find it more than a coincidence if we did. After all, Jade and Jake are both at home.”

Two of my strides were equal to one of his. Despite his long legs, we kept the same pace and I didn't find myself running to keep up as I usually would. When we entered the green foliage, his fingers laced with mine, a sweet gesture that I had welcomed after so many fights.

His sweet, melodic voice rang through the trees as he hummed the tune of “Londonderry Air” (although I was more familiar with it being “Oh, Danny Boy”). It was calming, walking side by side with him. I loved his spontaneous acts such as this one. He always seemed to surprise me with walks like this. On a stray path, in the crisp air, and underneath the arms of trees, he plucked something off of the forest floor, though I knew he probably conjured it as he always does.

He stopped briefly to place it behind my ear and to say his classic line, “A rose for the lovely Rose.”

I giggled, wondering briefly why he always did that. “I’d give you a ‘john’, but that might just be awkward.”

He chuckled, glancing from the air in front of us to me. “It is the thought that counts, my dear.”

I laughed as his hold on my hand tightened.

“Come on! I have an idea!” He began to pull me through the foliage as he sprinted over the roots. For once, he had been graceful while I had been the one to stumble and trip over myself.

When his feet ceased to continue onward, I stumbled on the abrupt stop and mine did continue. He had wrapped one arm around my waist, preventing me from falling. This was an example of one of the only times Sassacre had managed to truly seem cool. 

I was about to pull myself away from him when I caught hold of the sight ahead me.

Mixing lights fluttered and danced in the open air, free from the grasps of crippling branches. Rainbows reflected off of the small waterfall’s reign over the pebbles as the water pounded forth with such velocity. The air was lighter and carefree. Above us, the sun began to show its bright face from behind the fluffy clouds as iridescent snow clusters found themselves floating softly to their destination.

Sassacre pulled me farther into his chest and rested his chin on the top of my head. “Wooooow…”

I resisted the urge to reach out and disturb the beautiful site. “How did you know…?”

He grinned as he pressed his lips to my forehead. “I didn't.”

*** 

“I've got an idea!” John practically yells, snapping me out of my fantasy. I haven't daydreamed like this in ages; perhaps I'm slowly turning into Jade

He's shuffling the only loose pieces around, mumbling underneath his breath. As he considers possible positions, he sticks his tongue slightly out and presses his canines to it. “So if this goes here and that goes there….”

I realize his plan before he fully contemplates it. As a result, I reach over for the last paper as he does the same. His hand finds the top of mine and I look up at him. He doesn't quite move his hand away, but he looks as if he wants to say something, to  _ do  _ something.

As a growl rips through the air, I’m almost thankful for the distraction. Searching quickly and desperately for an excuse, one slips out. “Bec has gotten his paws on one of the cats again.”

“... Bec?” John asks, his eyes still wide in concern.

“The monstrous white thing that Jade likes to call her dog.” I respond nonchalantly. It's obvious that none of us would really describe Becquerel as a sweet, innocent dog, but to John, that's just the thing he will be.

“Oh… Are you sure that the cat is okay?” He is persistent, but in his defense, the growl seemed threatening, bloodcurdling; it was a growl that commanded a fear that would crawl up from your chest to get stuck in your throat.

“Unfortunately so, but if you ask me, Vodka picks way too many fights with any animal. It's about time that she gets it handed to her.” I shrug, my eyes fixed on John.

“Vodka?” Wide-eyed John is asking about a world that many don't see; our personal lives aren't really something we let people in. On the other, if he is Sassacre, this was once his life too. In a way, it still is.

“Vodka Mutini. Roxy gets rather creative with the names of her cats.” I smile, remembering her first horse that she had named Odin since she brought back mead like Odin had done to Asgard.

“I see… This is normal here, huh? All the chaos and everything?” John reaches back to scratch the back of his neck.

“Exquisitely so. In fact, I'm surprised it only took a harsh scolding to force them into this surreal environment.” I chuckle.

He laughs. “I know you don't like it, Rose, but this place is pretty great, even with its chaos and everything!”

I tilt my head to the side, a sly smile on my face. “How so?”

“It's… Cozy. Your family seems fun and great. It's never completely quiet or awkward. There always is something going on; the walls ooze more excitement than the ghosts of ghostbusters. It's like this place just never sleeps.” He stumbles on his words, as if trying to find the perfect ones. 

I chuckle at that last part. Some people in this house  _ never  _ sleep. “I suppose you could say that. Though I do believe I have told you about this before, it gets tiring after a while.”

“You know, I don't believe that.” He challenges, arms crossed. 

“Why’s that?” I question smugly, intrigued by his sudden boldness.

“I get the feeling that you do it for yourself, like you're forcing yourself to be unhappy. Don't ask me why you would do that; that's your own sort of psychoanalysis thing. I just know that you don't actually mean it when you say that you don't like it here.” He answers calmly.

The corner of my lip curls up. “I suppose you could be correct, but as you've clearly stated, psychoanalyzing is my shtick. A newby such as yourself would be quick to jump to conclusions.”

He rests his chin on the palm of his hand as he fabricates his response. “No, I don't think I'm jumping to conclusions. I think I've known you long enough to know that it is possible for Rose Lalonde to enjoy herself, especially when she’s around that group of hers.”

“What group you refer to is unknown to me. It is obvious to any landish outcast that I have no such thing. In fact, I would begin to question your own facade.” I grin now, sarcastically throwing my hands up into the air and emphasizing parts of my sentences that didn't need the extra umph. 

He raises an eyebrow at me, his face now scrunched inward. “What… Hey, wait a minute. Rose, you sarcastic daughter of a bastard.”

I giggle, beginning my round of jests. “John, I am deeply insulted by your jibe to my father. I will assure you that his parents were well endowed before any such gesture was even made.”

He grins, joining in on the jamboree. “Wooooow, I did not need to know that, but I guess I can apologize to both you and the whole baby-making process of your father.”

“Thank you. There will no longer be any alleged dishonor on neither my family nor my cow.” 

He snorts, “Really, Rose? Mulan?”

“If a feisty, little dragon can aid in the defeat of a murderous civilization and in the fight for feminism, then he is exceptionally fine to me.” I rationalize.

He shakes his head at me. “Whatever you say, Rose. I would've been fine with my lucky cricket.”

“That was a preposterous liar and wasn't even a lucky cricket in the first place.” I add on.

“What is preposterous, madam, is that you deny to accept the causal character development that the scene was all about.” He says lightheartedly. While this may have been a heated argument in the forums, John and I treat it like child’s play, tossing around words that don’t matter. We both know that the other does not mean what they are presenting. 

“Casual character development?” I anunciate in feign horror. “You and I are aware that ordering a shake with fries is a casual character development, but a lying, unlucky cricket? That's monumental!”

He can't help but chuckle softly. “Monumental or not, I doubt it matters. Besides, the only thing monumental around here might just be my hunger.”

I giggle. He was certainly right. Four hours spent working on a project without snacking?  _ Ludicrous _ . “Well, if that is indeed the case, then I believe Roxy made cookies for us a while ago.” To be honest, I'm uncertain who really made the cookies, but they are there and they did smell quite delectable.

“Rose, that is the best thing I have heard all day. Ma’am, you are speaking my language.” He sticks his tongue out slightly, joshing. “That sounds awesome though. I'd really appreciate it.”

I stand up, brushing off bits of eraser and paper scraps that had nestled in my lap. “Then, right this way, sir.” He follows my lead and finds his way to his feet. He pauses briefly to pick up our board to place it on the safe coffee table and mumbles something to the effect of “better safe than sorry.”

As I lead him through the hallway parallel to the foyer, I feel bubbly and ecstatic. I haven't realized how much I missed my spunky conversations with Sassacre. Of course, John isn't him, not exactly. He’s… Happier. He still laughs like he doesn't have a care in the world. He's young and doesn't have the humongous burden that he will eventually have to carry. But his memories are there somewhere; I suppose that they have the same souls and John will eventually have to react to his past. But for now, he isn't; he still reminds me of the Sassacre that I fell in love with.

I glance at him as we enter the kitchen. His scruffy, red hair ruffling quintessentially and his brilliant blue eyes glistering in the slight light, he looks exceptional, or as Roxy would vocalize, he’s certainly hot. As his eyes dance around the room taking in all that he can, I’m glad to know that he did not have some strange power that Dirk or Dave have. If he knew what I was thinking or even how glad I am to have him back… Well, embarrassment is not my strong point.

I quickly reach into the refrigerator, trying to recover the wrapped cookies before John gets a glimpse at the blood bags that litter the shelves. Perhaps Jade’s gory leftovers from hunting with her rifle would be easier to explain than the Striders’ poison. I place the plate on the tiled counter and remove the saran wrap from the delightful chocolate chip cookies. I sneak one quickly, placing it in my mouth to hold before I throw away the seran wrap. I note the three empty blood bags in the trash and wonder what those were for. After all, even those two are usually satisfied after one. On the other hand, they do mack on Roxy and Jade quite a bit.

John reaches over my shoulder to pluck a cookie off of the plate in front of me and pops it into his mouth. Ignoring the sudden queasy feeling in my stomach, I turn around and lean against the counter, the cookie still hanging from my mouth.

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to invade your space.” He grins, taking a bite. He says this in such a way that I cannot help but believe he did it on purpose.

I take my own cookie out of my mouth with my hand and nibble on it. “Don’t worry about it. Living around here, I’m very experienced with having my personal bubble burst often.”

He chuckles, coarse yet melodic to my ears. “I’m not too sure whether or not that’s a good thing.”

I shrug, brushing the cookie crumbs off of my hands. I smugly respond. “Depends what and who it is.”

When he leans against the counter space beside me, I resist the urge to take a step closer. I know better than this; I understand thoroughly the extents of what pursuing such an action would lead to. John is cute, and while I would love to once again find my fingers tangled within his hair, I can’t. He is young, and that’s the problem. He’s carefree and joyful; he doesn’t have to handle the issues that we do. He doesn’t have to worry about staying normal or even about how he’s going to deal with us… I don’t want to ruin that for him, not yet.

On the other hand, as I feel the heat radiating off of his body that is so close to my own, I perceive just how lonely I truly am. Sassacre was my everything, my all. I could have spent my days just gazing into his eyes and still would have been dandy. I miss the time that I had spent laughing at his jokes and learning magic spells from him. He helped me more than I could ever thank him for, even back to the original Sassacre on that fateful day.. 

I lost him more times than I can count. Half of my life has been spent searching for his lost soul. I have met him time and time again, our souls practically crying out for the other. Our romantic past is screwed up, and I only ever have him for brief periods of time. Yet, here he is again. Bright-eyed and full of adventure, John is my soulmate. We have proven that time and time again. I try not to sigh out loud as I realize that it is selfish to even consider doing such a thing. I won’t take this away from him; I can’t… Even if I desire him so much. Doing so wouldn’t be right; it would only be selfish...

I look up from the floor that I often stare at whenever lost in thought. His crystal eyes stare back at my own curiously. I take that step forward, take the chance.   _ Maybe I am feeling a bit selfish today… _

I stop myself, inches from his face, to stare at the doorway. Roxy is yelling something in the muffled tone that is created through the walls. Her voice still seems hushed, urgent. I look to John to see his own fluster.  _ God, what am I doing? _

“Sorry,” I mutter as I pull away from him. “I should probably see what that is about.” 

He doesn’t say anything as I rush out of the kitchen and into the prestique foyer. Glancing around, I know the area has never felt so empty and lifeless. I begin to walk up the staircase towards the sound of Roxy’s voice. Something does not seem right.

She bursts out of her own room onto the stairway. Her long hair is haphazardly pulled up into a ponytail, knotted in one area as if scruffled by something. Her skirt is ruffled; there’s a rip in the arm of her leather jacket. She rubs the golden liquid off of her mouth as she mumbles to herself. “That motherfucker…” She finally notices me, frozen a few steps away from her. “Rose! What are you doing here?”

I shake myself out of it. “Me? What happened? Did Dirk-”

She interrupts me, shaking her head. “No, he didn’t. I’m fine, but I have no time to explain. Where’s John?” 

“I left him in the kitchen. Roxy, I need your ad-”

“You left him? Dammit, Rose! I was counting on you! Shit, he could have gotten to him…” Her pink eyes wide, she begins running down the stairs, almost shoving me out the way.

“Roxy, what’s going on?” I demand as I chase her down the stairs. She doesn’t respond, doesn’t even check behind her back or flash me her cheeky grin. “Roxanna! I know he’s Sassacre!” I yell at her, grasping for any bit of her attention. She stops in her tracks as I grab her arm.

“You’re such a smart girl, aren’t you?” She spins around, breaking my grip. “Look, I’m sorry I never told you. Whatever comfort I can offer you will have to wait.” She begins to run towards the kitchen again and I don’t stop her. 

“Why?” I yell after her.

“John’s in danger.” She replies, not stopping. I don’t question her for whatever might possibly be ailing him in a house surrounded by us. I don’t bother telling her that I almost kissed him or that he probably is conflicted himself. I just know that, whatever it is, I am not losing him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again, guys! I am pleased to present you with Chapter 16. I apologize that it took so long, but I do have some good news. More planning has been put into this and I have all up the chapters up to 31 figured out. Not to mention, I also know the ending. As a result, you guys may actually get a total number of chapters within this fic very soon. Also, I am now out for summer. Hopefully, I will be able to post a chapter every week. However, I will be a junior in the approaching school year and will be taking a bunch of AP classes. Thus, I have a bunch of summer work to do, along with four books to read. I'm not sure how this'll affect me, but hopefully, I'll still be more efficient in posting. I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and remember, comments and kudos are welcome. ;) Have a fantastic day and I will see you around. Soon... Sooner than normal.


	17. John

"Jack! Wait up!"   
"Come on, Wayne! What are you doing so far behind?" I glanced behind me on the cold winter morning to see Wayne Vagabond's broad shoulders heaving. The snow was falling to the ground like knives and any sensible person wouldn't have been out. Of course, I wasn't too sensible either. On the other hand, my best friend, Wayne, was.   
"Forgive me. If it wasn't for this weather, I would be able to keep up." Wayne was a sensible person and a rather polite one too. In fact, he was probably the politest person I knew with his "may I"'s and "yes madam"'s. However, with me, he tended to drop the act a little bit, or more that I irritated him enough for him to actually use sarcasm. I guessed that that was what friends were supposed to do. Where was the fun if they didn't?   
"Oh, come on, Wayney boy, we both know that you still wouldn't be able to keep up." I smirked, now jogging backwards so that I could see him struggle. His scruffy, black hair was falling into his face as he looked up from his hunched position. He wasn't that big or burly of a man, but he wasn't tiny and scrawny. Being just the right size should have made him just a teensy bit athletic, but it didn't.   
"Oh, hush up. Why in the ever living God are we out here anyways?" He straightened out his back and began to follow me. This time, he didn't try to run or even jog beside me. He just took his sweet time, that sickeningly sweet smile plastered on his cheeks.   
"Because, Wayne, we are men and men like to adventure." I stood with my arms spread out to emphasize my own words. Underneath my thick, wool clothing were goosebumps. It was cold, freezing. I didn't know why I was out in weather like that. I should have known better; my baby sister had almost died to frostbite earlier in the season.   
"You're ridiculous, if you don't mind me saying so." His brown eyes were at my level as he finally approached me. He had his arms tucked into his armpits, and for a brief moment, I did consider turning back. After all, Wayne didn't deserve to lose his toes for me. What kind of friend would I have been then?   
"Oh, but I do mind you saying so. And here I was thinking how you were ever so polite." His laughter was the only thing that sounded over the icy wind. It was warming and comforting to say in the least. He had one of those personalities that you couldn't hate and instead immediately fell in love with. His very presence seemed like a pair of welcoming arms. I admired that.   
"Now, where are we going?"  He had spoken so clearly after laughing that I almost regretted that he had stopped doing so. If there was ever one thing I would miss, It’s his laugh… Though I would miss everything about him, from his stringy hair to his pointy elbows.

“Well, that’s complicated.” I offered him my arm as he had done to so many pretty girls. He was the charmer, and I was the prankster. That was how we were known. Even he knew me as such, although it was on a much deeper level than anyone else. For even then, I was mocking him. “Dear sir, would you be revolted if I told you that I didn’t know for certain?”

“Well, sir, I am only ever revolted by this charm of yours.” He took my arm, and together we began to walk as young gentlemen and ladies had often done, as well as good lads and giddy girls. In this cold, I enjoyed his physical warmth; he really did have the ability to brighten up the place. “Besides, I wouldn’t say that I’m surprised by such a revelation. For a dreamer, such as yourself.”

“It’s weird of you to say that, Wayne. You see, I was just thinking. Why are there always certain directions to do things you might wish to do? Turn right to go to the pond and strike a rock like such to create fire, court a young lady and then spend your days hunting to provide for your little offspring. It seems as if everyone is always just following the normal list and continuing on with their unsubstantial lives. Now why is it that more people don’t realize this? Why aren’t more people doing the unconventional way of life. That sounds like a more fun experience, now doesn’t it?” Our footprints trailed behind us in the fallen snow. He mulled this thought over carefully. He wasn’t like me in that he just spoke without thinking; he chose every word carefully. If one were to ask him a question as I had just done, he wouldn’t give any rash response. He would do the polite action and consider the question seriously as he was doing now in the blinding white snow. His silence was the result of his unknown, trailing thoughts, and I had to wait quite a while until he had given me a response.

“I don’t know, Jack.” He stopped in his tracks, causing me to stop as well. He looked at me with concern, his caramel brown eyes young and curious. “I suppose it would be due to the fact that the directions are safer. Turn right to get to the pond would guarantee that one didn’t get lost on the way to fetch water and knowing how to strike a rock in just the right way to start a fire would save one’s life in a cold like this one. Courting a young lady and raising up little ones just seems to be the happiest way to go about things. If you think about it, no one is out in this snow for they have been told by their parents otherwise. And yet, here we are. Two young men, just barely men if you would consider that as well, out in the snow like it isn’t anybody’s business. Where do you suppose this will bring us? Perhaps a cold? Or, god forbid, the blizzard worsens and we freeze? Staying inside would be safer, but otherwise, how would we ever see a sight such as this one? Or even know that the sun could shine through these thick clouds? I’m happy now, so who’s to say what is right and what is wrong?”

The snow was falling slower. Glancing up, I was aware that he was right. The sun was indeed shining his brilliant rays even through those thick clouds. The storm was beginning to clear up, and it was beautiful. I was happy. My methods were unconventional, but could I really be considered crazy if I did what I had to be happy? I pulled my arm away from him as I shook my head slightly. “You’re too wise for your age, you know that?”

He shrugged in response, raising his hand out to catch the last of the fleeting snow. “I know that I only know what I do thanks to your antics. You’ve caused me to question the way we are, Jack. Perhaps that is not a pleasant thing, but I enjoy it.”

I stared at the surrounding white. “Don’t give me so much credit.” Mumbling, I noticed the slight movement in the distance. I questioned briefly what it was as we stood there in silence. It continued to move, slowly shifting through the blanket of snow. Wayne had followed my gaze as it approached and questioned with me, the wheels within his head creaking. When its beady eyes had appeared, he began to retreat. I didn’t move. He tugged on my arm to follow. I still didn’t move.

Against the light blue sky of the early afternoon, the shockingly white fur stood out. The creature’s fangs glistened in the newfound sunlight. The pawprints that trailed behind it reminded me of our own. It was a terrible moment to have such a thought, but I could not stop myself from wondering if this soul was already following the unconventional way. Wayne was as mesmerized as I was. We barely flinched when it had pounced.

A brief few seconds had passed before I realized what it was doing, its paws pinning Wayne to the ground. He squirmed from underneath it, his caramel eyes wide in fright. A few more seconds had passed before I realized that I had to do something. I lounged at it with an unknown strength, pulling it to the ground and away from the polite gentleman who didn’t deserve to be there.  The green eyes that stared back at me as the creature froze in shock held my own gaze. _What are you?_

My back thudded against the packed ground and my head throbbed. I pushed myself up to my feet. The creature with its lost, green eyes had found its own way onto his feet and had begun cornering Wayne as he stood with his jaw dropped. It seemed to have recovered from my advance quickly and taken advantage of my slowness. It again pounced, this time snarling. What happened next I could barely understand, I threw my hand out as if I were throwing a spear. An icy blue rod shot out of my grasp and nailed the wolf to the ground, a blinding light following it. I now stared at my own two hands. _What am I?_

I ran forward to shove the creature aside and off of Wayne. I was too slow to stop its attack and Wayne laid in the frozen snow, his eyes forced closed. I grabbed his shoulder, and disregarding the previous beauty of both the beast and the sky, I began to sob. “Wayne, wake up! Please…”

***

“Johnathan, please, wake up.” A shock of cold pulls me to consciousness. With my body sprawled out upon my bed, I eye the translucent arm that rests upon my shoulder. Wayne Vagabond stood inches away from me. I shake off the impression to tackle him to the ground.

“What... What're you doing, man?” I sit up and begin to rub the sleep out of my eyes. I pray briefly that he's not here to take me on some wild adventure; I don't have time for that.

“I apologize, sir. It's just that you have slept past your alarm and I believe you were planning on spending the day with the missus.” He states simply in his weird accent. I grudgingly place my feet on the cold floor and push myself up, resisting the urge to just collapse right back into bed.

“The missus?... Oh, you mean Rose. Yeah, I do, but it's only for a project, WV. Nothing even close to what you're picturing.” I reply, only a tiny bit annoyed with his statement and the fact that he woke me up. I toss my shirt off and begin searching for today’s outfit, maybe even something ghost buster themed (in case I ran into Vicky).

“Oh, yes. Of course not.” He sits on the edge of my bed, a small smile on his face. Slipping into a pair of jeans, I ignore his comment. I pause when I swear I hear something. “I'm fine, Jack! I'm fine!” The words are relieving, even if I have no clue why. Fully dressed, I sit down beside him to slip my socks on.

“Hey WV? Did you ever know someone by the name of Jack?” I try to seem as nonchalant as possible, but I don't think I succeeded as the name seems to hang over my head ominously.

He pauses, searching my eyes for some sign. I suddenly am embarrassed for the random question. “Yes, I did. He was a good friend of mine during my lifetime in the ninth century. We were raised in the same village, even chased after the same girl for a period of time. He was quite the fellow, always pulling pranks and still asking the most profound questions.”

I stand up, brushing off the conversation. “Well, thanks for waking me up. See ya later, WV!”

“Goodbye, John. And good luck!” He waves me off.

Smiling after completing my usual morning routine, I run down the stairs. I'm not looking for a confrontation with Nana as I begin to search for my school bag and the poster board for our project. However, by the smell that omits from the kitchen, I find avoiding it unlikely.

“John, you’re up before noon on a Saturday?” Her voice echoes from the kitchen in response to my shuffling around the house.

“Nope, I’m sleepwalking, Nana.” I chuckle, spotting my backpack by the door. _Now where’s that board?_

“Of course you are.” She laughs, now in the doorway of the kitchen. I shoot her a smile as I mumble jibberish under my breath. She uses her magic grandmother powers, “where are you going?”

“Someplace that involves having a life, Nana.” I reply, looking into every possible nook and crany.

“John.” She reminds me gently that she is my parental figure and I stop myself from laughing at her tone. Don’t get me wrong, I love my nana, but she has that whole adorable, old grandmother thing down.

“Of course… I hope you don’t mind, but I told Rose that I would work with her on our English project today at her house.”   
“So why are you still here? It’s not polite to keep a young lady waiting, boy.” She says mischievously, a twinkle within her eyes.

I consider the possibility of an approaching prank war, but put that thought aside for now. “I know, Nanna. I’m just trying to find the board we were gonna put our presentation on.”

“Ho ho ho, you mean this board?” She pulls it out from behind her back.

I rush over, grabbing it out of her hands before it mysteriously disappears again. “Nanna, why-”

“You left it on the floor, deary. You ought to be more responsible than that. I had to rescue it from the gnomes.” She waves her hands this way and that way, pretending it was no big deal.

I try not to scoff at her superstitions, the gnomes that steal your stuff just another one of her stories. I can believe in ghosts, and maybe even werewolves. But gnomes? Try again.

“Thank you, Nanna. Well, like you said, I can’t leave a lady waiting.” With a grin, I rush out of the house, picking up my backpack on the way out.

The gusty autumn air welcomes my warm body as I tighten my grip on the board. The wind is obviously a more realistic threat compared to the gnomes. Nanna’s still weird like that; her and her superstitions. She doesn't worry about luck or anything, but she leaves out the bird feeders with that sweet liquid stuff for the “fairies” and keeps her rabbit's foot by her side, not for luck, but to keep away evil spirits. I suppose that all of that stuff is because of her grandfather, who is some big shot in the wizarding world. I’m not sure how much of this is true, but I suppose I shouldn’t really be that skeptic. After all, who else sees ghosts, shoots white aura thingies out of their hands, and has survived a werewolf attack?.

Passing by that one tree, I glance up to find no sign of Vicky. I note this as a shame. Thanks to my amazing Nanna, I was truly rocking a new ghostbuster shirt that mimics their own outfits and gear. I consider all that Vicky’s told me about this town and how it’s practically home to all of this lore and everything. It does make sense in a terrible horror movie sort of way, even the mansion that I slowly seems to omit those creepy, queasy feelings. I look down at my shirt and laugh. _I am the ghostbuster, here to bust these ghosts. It is me._

Rose opens the door upon seconds of the first knock, the small amount of sunlight making her blond hair golden. “Welcome, John. Please come on in.”

Upon first sight of the mansion, my only impression is how fricking huge the whole place is. My second thought is how weirdly built the place is. I mean, I'm not an architect or anything, but a mostly square room with a rounded off corner to compensate for the round staircase that inches up the wall doesn't seem very conventional. And then, from the outside, it looked pretty square… ical. So doesn't that mean the inside should reflect the outside? Then what's up with the huge gaping hole in the wall next to the giant open entrance to what looks like the outside?

“Thanks,” I reply. “Pretty nice place you have here.”

There's a deep chuckle and I look over to the staircase to find that featureless face covered by anime shades. His very presence still sends a chill down my spine and I can't help but wonder what his deal is. “By the way, if you're wondering, Jade likes to punch things.” Dirk again laughs to himself.

Rose raises an eyebrow at him and then totally disregards it as she takes the board out of my hands. I briefly consider the idea that the two have been waiting by the door this whole time. “Ignore him. He likes to think that he's an all-knowing God that can guess at what people are thinking.”

“Oh okay.” I reply. If he was guessing, then that was a really good guess…

“So I hope you don't mind,” she begins to walk towards one of the side rooms on the right of the doorway, opposite of the staircase. “But I did start without you, and I already have most of what is needed typed up.”

I shuffle my feet awkwardly, taking in my strange surroundings. “Oh yeah, sorry about that. I sort of slept in.”

She laughs, a sound that brings an immediate smile to my lips and the slight flutter in my stomach. “I don't mind. In fact, I would do anything just so Sleeping Beauty can get his beauty sleep.”

I grin. “What? Dave slept in as well, you say?”

She laughs at the jab to her sort of brother ( _I don't know. Could you call him that?)_ and places the board on the coffee table in front of a couch. I assume this to be a very modern living room, big screen and all. It doesn't really fit in with the whole haunted house look, but that's okay. _The ghost buster will still bust the ghosts._

I place my backpack down on the floor beside the sofa and pick up a thick stack of papers that sits next to a white laptop that has what looks like a crocheted, purple case underneath it. “Wow, Rose. Are you sure that you didn't do all of it?”

“I’m certain that I did not. However, I did type up most of the hard parts to the project.” She settles down on the couch, pulling her laptop onto her lap.

“You’re a lifesaver, Rose! Though, I do sort of feel bad for letting you do all of that on your own.” I find my place on the floor beside the board and start shuffling through  the papers, wondering how much time she had really spent on this. _I wasn’t that late, was I?_

“Don’t worry about it. I pulled some of this stuff from Roxy and Dirk’s project that they did.” She smiles mischievously, and I can’t help but wonder if she had done all of this work for the heck of it and it just happened to come in handy. “However, I do not envy you either. Good luck trying to find each of those papers a cozy home within the neighborhood on board town.”

I look from the stack in my hands to the suddenly small of a board. “Wow, thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” The wide smirk plastered on her face makes me smile. “Could you be a gentleman and please hand me my pen?” She gestures to the table.

“Oh, yeah, sure.” I reach over, only briefly considering why she had to ask me to be a gentleman, but then I realized that she did live with the one and only Dave Strider.

When I hold out the pen for her to grab, she pauses briefly and shakes her head slightly. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” I nod my head with my words and then continue on, shaking off the small shake of her head cause _holy shit, that’s a whole lot of stuff I’ve got to paste on there._ As I try to figure stuff out, I can’t help but watch her out of the corner of my eye. I have no time to figure out her quirks, but I do have time to acknowledge how cute she truly is. Somewhere along the line, I force myself to focus on figuring out my current problem. Somewhere along the line, I also give up and beg her to give a shot at the board while I tried my hand at typing. Again, somewhere along the line, we move our operation to the floor, desperate for the extra room. As I type up words from her very neat and peculiar notes ( _so perfect)_ , we have small conversations that mostly include me asking, “would it be okay if I did this?” I eventually let her pick the typing back up while I study what she has done so far ( _It was a pretty cool design and idea)_ . I don’t know, but we also begin to argue about Shakespeare, which I should’ve lost since _holy hell, I really don’t know Shakespeare that well._ However, I appreciate that she had let me win, even if, deep down, or as Dave would say, very deep down, it hurt my man pride, just a little bit.

She falls quiet after her argument and I again eye her questionally. She looks slightly upset, her lips drawn into a thin line. I want to tell her that it’s okay for letting me win, but then I would have to acknowledge that it had happened and then my man pride would be even more hurt. It’s a sort of Strider douche bag move, but oh well. Besides, as I continue gluing and pasting and arranging and rearranging, I watch as the thin line becomes a small crescent, a slight smile beginning to compliment her features, totally making up for the whole not saying anything thing. I wonder what she’s thinking about that would cause that small, unintentional smile. As she tilts her head to the side, I swear I hear a quiet rhythmic tapping and I assume that it's Rose, and definitely not a ghost. That wasn't my first impression at all. I stop noticing stuff about Rose as best as I can and force myself back to work. _Wow, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be._

I eventually again give up, struggling with the placement of one stinking paper. “Hey Rose. Where do you want this?”

She doesn't respond as she continues to clickity clack on her laptop, even though I'm pretty sure she's not even doing the project anymore.

“Rose? Rooooooose?” I try to grab her attention by waving my hand in front of her face, and it seems to work when she gives me the cutest smile ever. “Weeeeell, as I was saying, do you want it here or here? Because I'll be honest when I say that I don't know what I'm doing and you seemed like you wanted it a certain way?”  
She chuckles. “Weeeeeeell, it is just the board, so hopefully you know how to use glue.”   
I feel like I should be insulted by her response, but instead, I let myself be irritated since I really do want her opinion/need her help. “Rose, you know what I mean.” She gives me this fake, helpless, and innocent look. _She knows exactly what she is doing._ “Where do you want the papers to go?”

I want to very kindly take the smirk off of her fade as she finds the perfect opportunity to keep this going. “Hopefully, on the board.”

I groan, very much done with this charade. Usually, I would be much more patient, but I do wanna actually get this done. “Rooooose, please.”  
She opens her mouth to reply, but is interrupted by a crashing sound coming from the other room. I raise an eyebrow at the incomprehensible yelling that follows it. _Maybe Jade punched something again?_

Rose waves her hand in the air, motioning that the loud noise was no big deal. “Don't worry about that. One of Roxy’s cats must have knocked something over and its contents spilled out. I'm sure they'll be fine.”

“Oh, okay…” I think about her explanation briefly, curious to find out more. “How many cats does she have?” Rose opens her mouth, but she doesn’t respond. She just freezes as if she didn’t know what to say, which is most likely a rare event for Rose Lalonde.i I understand and begin to laugh. “You don't know? Jeez, is Roxy one of those crazy cat ladies?”

She nods reluctantly in response, her blond bangs voicing gently against her forehead. I smile, immediately relating. “Woooow… I have an aunt who's like that. She's that one relative that you never want to visit, but always have to go to anyways. And then when she opens the door, the first thing she does is squeeze your cheeks and then the cat odor hits you and you look down to see like five pairs of their beady little eyes staring at you.”

She laughs, a sense of relief clearly showing on her face as the corners of her black painted lips pulled up. “I believe everyone unfortunately has one of those in their family. If they're extremely unlucky and the universe hates you, you’ll have two or more.”she paused briefly and I can't help but chuckle at her quirks. “Or if you're so unlucky that you can't even leave your house without a leprechaun prancing away due to your lack of said luckiness, then you're like me and you live with one.”

I ignore her comment about the leprechaun, though I know straightaway that she and Nana would get along perfectly, and giggle at her response. “Poor Rose, I’d offer you to move in with me, but I don’t think a crazy old lady who is way too invested in your life is any better!”

She and I laugh in unison and I'm happy. Watching her snicker, it's hard for me to understand how she could ever be so negative. Our laughter slowly turns to silence and Rose’s face draws back into that thin line, again serious. “You know, she probably just cares more about you than you think.”

I’m not entirely sure how to reply. I mean, of course I’m aware that she cares about me. She’s my Nanna. What is there else for Nanas to do other than bake cookies and care for their grandkids? I know she cares about me, and maybe I don’t really mind her being overprotective… I mean, she really did a lot for me after Dad died and all… “I mean, of course Nanna does. She’s the one that decided to send me to public school in the first place. She wanted me to make actual friends rather than those in my movies and the few online ones that I’ve managed to find…”

Rose doesn’t respond, and I don’t think I entirely mind. Besides, Rose seems to have gone back into her own thoughts and I don’t feel like stressing myself out about figuring out what she could possibly be thinking with that depressed look of hers. I put her aside and out of my mind. Or at least, try to. I don’t really know what’s wrong with me at this point. I only started at this school a month ago, so I’ve really only known Rose for half of that thanks to my whole injury thing. And yet, here I am, noticing the small, fucking things about her. I can’t help but get the whole butterfly in my stomach every time she laughs. Looking into her magnificient, purple eyes makes me wanna melt, and I can’t help but notice how her head tilts the side slightly as she thinks. She's beautiful and clever and oh my god, Disney needs to get me on their movie list because I can't naturally be falling for a girl I just met.

I glance up at Rose from the twiddling of my hands over paper and board. She seems to be staring at me, and now I really do wonder what's going on in that brilliant mind of hers. I only begin to start feeling really uncomfortable when she doesn't stop, and there's also that loud shouting that I can't quite understand. _Wow, this place is active._

Rose breaks her stare to look down at the floor and to shake her head, mumbling. “Dave must have taken Dirk’s iphone charger again…”

I continue on with the project and to avoid Rose’s staring, ask for help, holding up the pieces of loose paper. “So where do you want these?”

She starts to explain where she wants things and I admire how nimble she is. I push away the oncoming guilt of letting her do most of the project by dramatically pledging to myself that I would do all of the manual work and finish up the project on my own. She sits back as I paste this here and there, turning our project into a masterpiece (mostly thanks to Rose). However, I end up pulling off half of the information, careful not to tear anything, because I end of confusing myself even more. I question Rose here and there, figuring this thing out for myself because Rose doesn't need to do any more work.

By the time I get all the papers on the board, cutting, pasting, and tearing all seems a bit routine to me, as if I have become the new master at putting stuff together. Satisfied, I pick the board u- _GOD FUCKING DAMN IT._

There, hiding pridefully underneath the board, were three sheets of printed paper, and I have to curse the world because this is the one thing everyone hates: when they think they're done, but nope! “Dammit… I don’t think there’s any more room on the board either…” I look to Rose for help. Her purple eyes meet my blue ones with sympathy and I feel the heat rising to my cheeks. I look away and decide to figure this out for myself.  

“I've got an idea!” My voice seems to startle Rose, and I feel sort of embarrassed. “So if this goes here and that goes there….” I place the left overs here and there, one of them hanging slightly off the board. I reach for the last piece when I find Rose’s hand on top of mine. I look her in the eyes as I realize that this is a perfect movie moment and being the movie fanatic that I am, I would be damned if I, John Sassacre Egbert, let this opportunity be wasted.

And just like in the movies, my perfect moment is interrupted by a lot growling noise. This is already turning into a giant bin of different genres: fantasy, romanntic, young adult. What’s next? Horror?

“Bec has gotten his paws on one of the cats again.” Rose notes, as she snatches her hand from mine.

I try not to groan in the ruined frustration, and that growl did sound sort of important, I guess. “... Bec?”

“The monstrous white thing that Jade likes to call her dog.” Rose says like its nothing. I try not to question her wording. _Maybe the dog is just huge?_

“Oh… Are you sure that the cat is okay?” I ask, suddenly concerned about this poor creature’s health. I’m so sappy; it makes me sick sometimes.

“Unfortunately so, but if you ask me, Vodka picks way too many fights with any animal. It's about time that she gets it handed to her.” She shrugs.

“Vodka?” I ask, even more amused with this new development.

“Vodka Mutini. Roxy gets rather creative with the names of her cats.” Rose gives me her classic no-teeth smile.

“I see… This is normal here, huh? All the chaos and everything?” During my whole time here and with Rose and the group, that is the one impression that I always get; there's always something happening.

“Exquisitely so. In fact, I'm surprised it only took a harsh scolding to force them into this surreal environment.” She responds, visibly relaxing. Perhaps she was giving up on trying to seem like a normal family?

“I know you don't like it, Rose, but this place is pretty great, even with its chaos and everything!” I laugh, especially at her sudden change of expression.

“How so?” She questions.

“It's… Cozy. Your family seems fun and great. It's never completely quiet or awkward. There always is something going on; the walls ooze more excitement than the ghosts of ghostbusters. It's like this place just never sleeps.”

She gets this mischievous smile and I suddenly feel like I’m missing out of something. “I suppose you could say that. Though I do believe I have told you about this before, it gets tiring after a while.”

“You know, I don't believe that.” I fold my arms, trying to stare deep into her soul.

“Why’s that?”

“I get the feeling that you do it for yourself, like you're forcing yourself to be unhappy. Don't ask me why you would do that; that's your own sort of psychoanalysis thing. I just know that you don't actually mean it when you say that you don't like it here.” I answer as best as I can. Cause yes, I am challenging the great Rose Lalonde. She can be wrong on a handful of things, right?

“I suppose you could be correct, but as you've clearly stated, psychoanalyzing is my shtick. A newby such as yourself would be quick to jump to conclusions.” She’s smiling. _Why is she smiling? Am i right?_ _Okay, stay calm, Egbert. Stay calm, you got this._

“No, I don't think I'm jumping to conclusions. I think I've known you long enough to know that it is possible for Rose Lalonde to enjoy herself, especially when she’s around that group of hers.” _That’s right, you get it, Egbert. Where’s Wayne when you need a high five of awesomeness?_

“What group you refer to is unknown to me. It is obvious to any landish outcast that I have no such thing. In fact, I would begin to question your own facade.” She grins, creating a circus act with the way she waves her arms.

I try not to laugh at her cuteness. It seems a bit odd to me that Rose could ever be so enthusiastic about something. “What… Hey, wait a minute. Rose, you sarcastic daughter of a bastard.”

She giggles, and continues on in that way of hers. “John, I am deeply insulted by your jibe to my father. I will assure you that his parents were well endowed before any such gesture was even made.”

I decide to play along. “Wooooow, I did not need to know that, but I guess I can apologize to both you and the whole baby-making process of your father.”

“Thank you. There will no longer be any alleged dishonor on neither my family nor my cow.”

I laugh at her inference, “Really, Rose? Mulan?”

“If a feisty, little dragon can aid in the defeat of a murderous civilization and in the fight for feminism, then he is exceptionally fine to me.” She says, quite level-headed.

“Whatever you say, Rose. I would've been fine with my lucky cricket.” I respond, a smirk dancing its way onto the scene.

“That was a preposterous liar and wasn't even a lucky cricket in the first place.” She continues my sentence for me.

“What is preposterous, madam, is that you deny to accept the causal character development that the scene was all about.” _This is one run-on sentence._

“Casual character development?” her hand flies to her mouth in feign shock. She’s a pretty good actress.  “You and I are aware that ordering a shake with fries is a casual character development, but a lying, unlucky cricket? That's monumental!”

My mind is forced in another direction as I feel my stomach begin to grumble. “Monumental or not, I doubt it matters. Besides, the only thing monumental around here might just be my hunger.”

“Well, if that is indeed the case, then I believe Roxy made cookies for us a while ago.” She drops her sarcastic act, but continues to smile her smile.

“Rose, that is the best thing I have heard all day. Ma’am, you are speaking my language.” _Wait, was that too rude? Or too eager?_ “That sounds awesome though. I'd really appreciate it.”

“Then, right this way, sir.” I begin to follow her when I get the strangest feeling that I’m being watched. I turn my head to the side to see something shuffle behind the couch. It may have just been a cat or your average ghost, but Nana’s superstition of gnomes comes to mind. I put the board on the table. _Better safe than sorry._

Following behind Rose, I notice that something seems different about her, whether it’s the fact that she’s slightly bouncing as she walks in a way that I’ve only seen Roxy do (although Rose’s is on a much downgraded scale) or that she seems to keep glancing behind her to look at me. The room she leads me to again feels like it shouldn’t belong to such an old or even huge house. The tiling on the floor seems a little fancy, but has wear and tear to it. The oven isn’t anything special and the fridge doesn’t have any sort of touch screen or ask what you would like to eat. It’s… normal, which doesn’t quite agree with the house itself or the people who live in it. I wonder if they had this remodeled this way, or if it came this way and they didn’t feel like remodeling. Actually, thinking about it, this seems a little fishy. This whole time I should’ve at least run into some adult figure. Maybe this is a movie thing (and I really hate to even be able to relate it to this) and Rose’s situation is pretty much the equivalent of Edward’s from Twilight, just minus the fatherly and motherly figure. Maybe someone adopted them to make themselves look good and then tossed them into this house to brush them underneath the rug. _Wow, that is quite the conclusion, even for me._

Rose places the cookie plate over a crack in the counter, and leans over to throw away the plastic covering. Without even thinking, I reach over her shoulder from behind to grab a cookie. She spins around on her toes, her cheeks slightly flushed and a cookie hanging out of her mouth. _Am I allowed to call Rose adorable? Is that ever a word that would be acceptable to describe this sight?_

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to invade your space.” I grin, totally trying to ignore the fact that I had most likely gotten that move from the Strider hall of fame, which is shameful in itself. Also, _this cookie is amazing._

“Don’t worry about it. Living around here, I’m very experienced with having my personal bubble burst often.” She squeaks. It’s discerning to see her out of her comfort zone, even if it’s just a tiny bit.

I chuckle, hoping to ease the situation if only a little bit.  “I’m not too sure whether or not that’s a good thing.”

“Depends what and who it is.” _Was that-_

I take a step closer to her, leaning against the counter beside her. She doesn’t take a step closer, not at first. She bites her lip, as if contemplating something. She seems afraid…

***

Her red hair fell perfectly around her face, the green eyes of a beast staring at us. Wayne had awoken shortly after the attack. Apparently, his pure heart couldn’t take the sight of the beast AND the bright light. He passed out from the shock. He and I had both looked over to what we thought had been dead at the sound of pained groaning. We had found this sight of a young girl, who couldn’t have been any older than us. Her green eyes were now full of fear, not ferocity. Wayne had looked away when he caught sight of her bare skin. I removed my jacket and placed it around her, scooting closer to this beast. She had looked at me before wildly looking around and then finding her eyes back on me.

“Is anyone hurt? Did I-?” Her voice choked as her shoulders began to shake in fear.

I grabbed her shoulder in response, a mean of comfort. “My name is Jack Sassacre. To my knowledge, you didn’t hurt anyone.”

She relaxed at that, as if those words were the only thing she ever wanted to hear. “Thank you, I’m June Harley.”

Wayne had suddenly looked back to us. “Can she walk? We have to get her out of here.” I followed his gaze to our village where our neighbors were beginning to shuffle out. I had no clue what or who she was, but as her face filled with horror, I knew we had to protect her.

***

_Maybe I am feeling a bit selfish today._

Rose’s movement snaps me out of it. As generally confused as I could ever be about that hallucination, daydream, whatever it could be called, I could not have been more excited as Rose is inches away from me. I could blame it on the teenage hormones,but in this moment, I feel like I’ve known her forever, like I’ve seen her in this way for the entirety of my whole life.

She stops, inches away from me. I could pull her in and forget the distance between us, but Rose is too quick, off to investigate whatever noise her family is making now. “Sorry, I should probably see what that is about.”

Her short blonde hair disappears from my view before I can say anything, do anything. I turn towards the counter and stop myself from cursing the world. I feel a sudden draft, but ignore it. That is, until it said something.

“Well, that’s heart-breaking. She’s such a nice girl, sort of snarky, but also attractive. Very. If you’d talk to my boys, you’d find out that’s what I like in girls… And boys. Or whatever you want to call them. I don’t judge.” He leans against the counter next to me, his blond hair reeks of gel and his own body scent in cologne. I try not to gag as I back away slowly, my instincts telling me to get the hell out of here.

He watches me inch, an eyebrow raised. “You seem a little bit scared? Is that sweat that I can smell off of you?”

_Here’s my chance. Run._

Another gust of sickening air and he’s standing behind me with one hand around my mouth and the other around my waist. I try to pull away, but he holds me there with amazing strength. His tangerine orange eyes seem amused as he grins, what looks like fangs protruding from his mouth. He presses his lips to my bare skin, and I shiver. He glances up towards the doorway for a brief second before muttering in my ear.

“Let’s get this over with. Now shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, lovely readers. I don't know about any of you, but I'm feeling outstanding. This isn't a quick chapter, but this is a quick author's note because I wanted to get this done before cheerleading practice. First of all, I hope this wasn't as boring for you as it was for me. I had trouble with Rose and John's dialogues because let's face it, it's really boring retyping stuff and copying everything took forever. So I probably won't be doing anything like this again. Second of all, the flashbacks were probably my favorite part of this chapter as well as this guy with the tangerine eyes. Oh, and let's not forget that John apparently knows a thing or two about architecture. It's probably poorly written towards the end and I couldn't decide on how I wanted to spell Nana, but I hope y'all enjoyed it. As always, I love to read your comments. See you soon.


	18. Dave

“Earth to Dave Strider? Hellooooo? I must apologize for how terribly boring this might be for you, being the most rad and totally ironic, unironic guy in the known universe and how you probably have much better things to spend your time on. For example, snogging your precious play thing or even doing god forbids what on that website of yours. However, I must inquire that you take it upon yourself to, oh, I don't know, perhaps care about others for once in your eternal perspective?” 

Rose Lalonde, herself, stands before us as we all participate in another “family meeting” on the bottom of the staircase. However, we all know that if there aren’t rad pillow forts involved, then we’re most likely getting our asses chewed out for God knows what. Now is a perfect example of that as Rose begins to tear us apart from limb to limb with her precautions and old english wording about something we haven’t even done yet. It’s like Jesus had just told Judas he couldn’t be one of the apostles and instead, they were going to hang him for what he fucking does in the future. In other words, not cool. 

“Oh, sorry, did you say something? You know what, Rose? It’s really hard to hear you over that goddamn attitude. How about you lose it and then we can talk? Or maybe even if you just trusted us for once, because what’s the worst we could do? Throw him into a giant cauldron and laugh like wenches while Rox Socks over here names off a billion different, disgusting ingredients, like frog’s heart or giant’s earwax or werewolf hair.” I fold my arms as I sit on the bottom step with Jade, closest to discovering what a magic witch slap felt like.

“Hey!” Jade’s forehead scrunches as her eyebrows crinkle, her fists by her side.  _ Wow, she’s even adorable when she’s mad. _

“Sorry, Babe. You shed, and that’s truth.” I shrug, ignoring the giggles from the annoying gallery of two that sit a couple of stairs above.

“He speaks from personal experience. After all, he does sleep with the mutt.” Dirk comments out loud to Roxy. We all know that was on purpose and that he wanted us all to hear it. He is just plain-out sadistic sometimes. 

A growl rips through the air, silencing everyone. We should know better by now.  _ Make fun of Dave however much you want. Or even Dirk or Roxy. But Jade? Tease her once and prepare for everything, from the overlord to the horror terrors to the very hell itself, to break lose.  _

“Sorry, Jadsey.” Dirk flashes her his signature smile after placing his hand on her shoulder. “But you know how it is. Can't let his ego get too big.”

Her canines flash briefly as she smiles back, her shoulders visibly relaxing. “It's okay. Usually I could take it, but something just has me seriously irritated today.”

“Yes, well, Jade being in heat is not something that should cause her to bite anyone’s head off because they decided to poke a bear with a stick.” Rose folds her arm, silencing all of our quarrels and Jade’s inner whimpering. “Especially if this person is John. Now, I'm not going to inquire this of any of you again or make it any more obvious, even for Dave who might actually require the extra assistance. We need to keep this on the absolute downlow, so there will not be any cross-species scrimmages, any blood-drinking schemes, any peculiar sightings that may be suspicious, and especially not any event or action that could scare or threaten him. Or else, the one that splinters away from the virtual reality of our simple, idealistic lives may find themselves swimming with the fishes after he leaves.”

“Annnnnd just to clarify.” Roxy grins, so unfazed it's as if she had earplugs in the whole time. “She means that you'll have to spend the night in the pond as the result of her turning you into frog. Not as scary, but I understand the concern, Rosey. We promise we won't be any trouble whatsoever.”

Rose has a face as if it is fucking Christmas, but for Rose, that means she has no change of expression whatsoever. This girl is so hardcore with her know-it-all grins and mischievous chuckles that she could have beaten me out of the Strider of the year award. Major emphasis on the “could have”.

Jade nods giddily from beside me.  _ Have we really lived together for so long that we don’t take Rose’s threats seriously anymore? Because if so, Rose, I am so sorry. You deserve a much better family than us cool kids.  _ “You know, I don’t understand why you even insisted on having this meeting in the first place. We’ve been around John for a while now and haven’t revealed ourselves yet. What would cause us to do so now?” 

“Punching walls.” Dirk chimes in. I swear that his only purpose in life is to have terrible comments that no one wants brought up ever. He flashes me a fang filled smirk.

“Okay, that was Sollux’s fa-”

Roxy interrupts Jade quickly, eyeing the now-and-ever-silent Rose, who is, without any doubt, watching us interact with glee. “It's quite obvious on why the hell Rose wouldn't want us to scare the living shit out of him, as well as your normal teenage reasons for not wanting your unbearable family to.. Uh, ruin your chances, per say.”

Rose continues on to deny any and all allegations that she could ever possibly have any “chances” with Egbert. I could sit here and question why exactly Roxy of all people would tease Rose about John, aside from the obvious reason of her being the classic older sister. Perhaps she and Dirk knew that something was truly going on there, especially with his whole mind reader shtick. But that's all rather boring, so boring in fact that it's as if my fandom had been put in hiatus for a handful of years and the fans were trying to keep it alive with everything in their little hearts, but aside from a handful of tsunamis of material, they couldn't save themselves from the clutches of the hiatus and ended up sitting there, scrolling through the same content over and over again and praying to their hateful creator that there would be something new, anything new for them to gawk at all day. Besides, I had better things to do. 

‘So hot stuff, is it me that's causing you to be in heat? Cause y’know, you're always welcome to turn my thermostat down.’ I spread myself out on the step, pretending to listen to Rose even after she said she wasn't going to illiterate on anything else and here she still was.

Jade tries not to die of laughter at my hilarious Strider charm. ‘Oh my fucking god, David.’

I think up some distractingly sexy image of me dry humping the air with my hands behind my head. Jade immediately considers it to be ridiculous and silly more than the brilliance of my desirable mind.

‘Okay, okay, seriously, Dave. You're worse than Eridan. Besides, I'm not  _ in heat  _ or anything really like that. I'm just… Irritated.’ 

I try not to let her bruise my ego at the comparison to Eridan Fucking Ampora, minus the fucking, of course, since he sure as hell can't even land a girl that would ever want to do such a horrendous thing with the like of his desperate gills. ‘At what, sweet cheeks?’ She always likes it when I call her those shitty lovey dovey names, such as sweet cheeks or honey pie or hot stuff or smoking bacon. 

‘Something just smells terrible, worse than the time Sassacre decided to prank us with those stink bombs… It's like… acidic mouthwash and cheesy, old perfume.’ Looking closer at her, I notice that the bridge of her nose is scrunched and probably has been this whole time. ‘Sounds like Karkat is trying to land Terezi again.’

‘No, nothing like that. It's not even that bad of a smell… I just feel like I should know it from somewhere.’

‘I'm sure it's nothing, Jade.’

Roxy clears her throat, and we both look at her.  _ Wow, do we need to be less conspicuous about the whole mind talking thing. _ “As I was saying, Rose, if you're really that concerned, we could literally just spend all day in the attic.” 

Rose turns this around in her head. “The attic would be too harsh, but if you would do kindly to stay out of sight, that would suffice.”

“We could just hang out in the courtyard, if you’re trying for benevolent leader that is at least trying to be fucking decent.” Dirk nods, approving his own idea.

Jade stands up, stretching her arms out and pretending to be cool. “John Egbert within sniffing distance.”

Chuckling, Dirk stands up and gives her a little shove on the back like the asshole he is. “I could've told you that.” 

Jade doesn’t stumble and gives him her classic smile instead, but not the one that scares the hell out of people because it feels like deep down she’s secretly tearing skin molecule from skin molecule until you’re only muscle and bone and then she starts ripping your muscle apart like string cheese and now you’re forced to live in the closet of an old haunted house for the rest of your fucking life because you’re just a goddamn skeleton and the only place for you to get a decent job is with the scary godmother, but that position is already fucking taken! “But you were too slow.”

Dirk shakes his head in response, a small smile on his blank face, while Roxy starts shoving her way down the stairs, hoping to give us a clue to get our asses out of there. 

“Race you there?” Jade grins at me. 

With that Harley way of hers, I don't have time to respond. In fact, I suppose my response is to move the hell out of my feet in an attempt to not give her a head start. Alas, while I did feel fabulous due to my four seconds of the air blowing through my blonde hair like I was some cheesy, hot actress, I do not win. On the other hand, the small smile that spreads across her face as she does a mental “in your face” dance is enough for my poor little heart to fly. Jade laughs. “You know, Dave, you take being ironically cheesy to the max sometimes.”

I mime the tipping of my totally real fedora as Roxy walks in all on her lonesome. “Aw, shucks. That means so much coming from you, darling.”

“You know, the creepy thing about walking into this conversation is that he actually used to talk like that.” Roxy says, fitting her way into our little group circle.

I shake my head slightly. “I was originally English before I was Southern.” 

Jade tilts her head to side in confusion. “Hey, wait… Why is Dirk over with Rose and John still?”

Roxy shrugs. “Something about wanting to be the threatening older brother, but really, he’s just creeping John out. Oh! He also was going to retrieve the board of doom.” She puts extra emphasis on that last part, as if calling such an average game a terrifying name would make it so much better.

 

 

_ She was right to call it the board of doom.  _

It was only fifteen minutes ago that Dirk had entered the room carrying the wretched object, but now Roxy already scored both dark blue places and was beginning to build houses on it. On the other hand, Jade and I were filling in the rest of the board and not teaming up for once. We had no monopolies, which was a fucking miracle that Roxy even got the blue duo in the first four trips around the board. 

The sight itself is a little hard to swallow itself as our audience crowds around to watch the suddenly heated match. Karkat scrunches himself beside Jade while Kanaya carefully watches Dirk bank. At some point Kankri walks up to watch the wretched game and begins to discuss why exactly this game is a disgust to all kind and should be taken very seriously. However, Karkat tells him as plain as day to “fuck off” and the two decide to start their own little tantrum fit. Eridan flops his fishy tail over when he notices the two arguing and asks if he could play. Karkat again basically tells Eridan to “fuck off” in too many words than fucking needed. The fuse was lit when big mouth over there had to trigger people, but Kanaya really fucking lit it.

I grin at the board as I succeed to monopolize both the pinks and oranges, giving me a successful corner. Jade seems to be tiptoeing her way around the board, being that one player that owns all of the appliances, as well as railroads, and then the red monopoly and both the browns. Roxy dominates the whole other side of the board with the yellow, green, and both shades of blue. It’s obvious, of course, that I was losing in terms of property value. 

And as Kanaya points out, money too. “Is anyone desiring to comment on the fact that Dirk is, as one would put it, ripping you off?”

Jade and I lift our heads up at the same exact time as Dirk hands Roxy her 200 for passing Go. Except, it wasn't 200. It was two one hundreds with a five hundred slipped in between. I feel stupid for not noticing it before, but the frustration with the mere fact of cheating was enough to put that aside. “Are you serious right now? You two don't know the fucking bounds of this game. Do you not understand that this game tears families apart for a reason? This is absolute bullshit. You two are not allowed to fucking cheat by sliding money over like you're paying your dealer with a little extra tip in the hopes of getting more or even just getting on his good side. That's more annoying than Kankri’s shitty monologues!” 

Roxy leans her head back as she reaches above, stretching her tiny, pathetic self out. She isn't even trying. “It's called bank investments, Dave.”

I am not having this. “Yeah, and for what? You're not allowed to prostitute yourself over a board game either!”

Jade laughs as she shakes her head side to side. Before any of us can question why, the game has been snatched up and she's already tossing it into the water. “That's enough of that.”

Dirk snickers. “Wow, Jade. Are you that offended over a little board game?”

“As a matter of fact…” They both freeze, eyes locked on the other. I should be offended that they could stare into each other's eyes like that or that Dirk just hijacked our mind link (something he rarely does since it makes him super exhausted) and now I'm left out of the link. Roxy looks to me. We’ve explored Dirk’s mental powers enough to learn that anything that abused the already tortured mindscape, completely shut her out as well. 

Then, with a swift breeze, they're out the door, Jade trying to keep up with Dirk for once, who is the slowest one of us all. Roxy and I follow in a full sprint. Entering the entryway, I pause, eyes locked on the disgusting soul. His orange eyes seemed bright and amused as he held his shoulder, leaning on the fucking banister in the doorway. The white hat that had taken many shapes and sizes over the years has transformed into a douchebag SnapBack. His button-up shirt is drenched in red as the stuff begins to pool onto our contaminated porch. 

His voice was the same as he greeted us in his old, usual way. “Boys, why don't you come show your brother some love?”

***

I wasn't asleep when he had walked in, just barred in for the night as one of Bro’s policies. He had bags under his eyes as he wrapped his arms around himself as if he were trying to hold his guts in. He wouldn't look me in the eye as I stared him down from the corner of my bed. I didn't move as he walked over to his own. He didn't dare turn his back to me as he shuffled into his bed, curling up under the cover upon first impact.

“Dirk.” His name found its way out of my newly fanged mouth, despite the shock of the situation. I watched his shoulders begin to heave underneath his shade and could picture the tears that began to roll down his cheeks. 

Striders didn't cry. That was our number one rule when we started out in this whole vampire business just a couple of months ago. In fact, it was when I had awoken in a fit of tears from the transformation did Dirk stare me right in the eye and make me promise him that neither of us would ever cry again. As a result, we had become stoic. Bro loved our emotionless attitudes and was even more amused as he watched us swoon his dinners and not flinch as he munched away more than he should have. After a while, the only emotion we ever showed was falsely for the ladies we aimed to “please”.

It was his sobbing that broke my trance. I stood up and awkwardly shuffled my way over the small distance. We both flinched when I silently put my hand on his shoulder. For him, it was because of my touch, and for me, it was because of his tendency to do so.

“Dirk,” I breathed at my _ true  _ brother.

He didn't respond. Instead, he tried to shove me away, but the funny thing about supernatural stuff is that you never know what'll you get. My heroic brother, who would hold me to the ground in terms of getting his way while I struggled underneath his strength to no avail, had switched roles with me. He wasn't very strong or fast compared to our newfound vampiric companions. He was the weaker bit of the bunch, but as Bro put it, that was due to his extraordinary powers. 

I pulled him into a hug, forcing him to sit up into my arms. He struggled and groaned. I finally got my response. “Dave, please… Control yourself.” 

“Dirk, what did he do to you?” I asked, ignoring his complaints and focusing on my supposed-to-be-strong brother. 

“I'd rather not talk about it. Now, please, go to bed.” 

I began to rub his back, trying to be the best sympathetic sibling I could be. No emotions, yeah? That's okay, I can handle that. He gritted his teeth as he went completely rigid. I took my hands away from him and stared him in the eyes before ripping his shirt off.

His chest was dressed in scattered crescent-marked scars, some old and faded while others leaked fresh blood. His pale skin was bruised purple and black where it wasn't red. I ran around to the other side of the bed. His back was an even worse sight as the blood trailed down from claw marks etched into his skin. 

It was his turn to pull me into his arms as I tried to bolt for the door. He held me as best he could, grunting as he responded. “Dave, I'm okay. Stop it.” 

I stopped struggling after a while. I could've broken free at any moment, but Dirk was already beaten up and fragile as he was and for once, I didn't want to make it worse. And so, I eventually laid back into his arms as he whispered into my ear. “It's okay, Dave. I'm okay. We’re immortal now, yeah? Nothing he does can hurt me. It's worth it. I'm okay. I swear, I'm okay.” The way he kept muttering those words anyone could tell it was for himself, more than it was for me. He began to slip out of consciousness as he continued on. We didn't know at the time that it was his system shutting down. I'm not sure why I didn't realize it any sooner, but I did understand that he was exhausted.

We spent a lot of nights like that, curled up in each other’s arms, grasping for the crisp support that we desired. After that day, I didn't bother to look for the marks that remained fresh. After that, the Strider boys didn't cry. Only in the recluse of the dark night did a tear slip out, and even then, it was only ever one. As every night was stolen away by morning, Bro’s orange eyes and twisted smile would always greet us. His sickeningly, sweet words would always try to embrace us in false comfort. “Boys, why don't you come show your brother some love?”

***

Roxy is the first one to take a step towards that monster, the false smile dressing her face. “Derek Strider, well, isn't this a pleasure.”

He grinned, the southern accent absorbing his verbiage. “Well, I would be damned. Roxanne Lalonde, how have you been?”

She pauses in her unique stride to place her lips on the side of Dirk’s neck from behind, a sweet sentiment meant as both a comfort and a warning. “A little busy, if you must know. I would imagine you would be too, with your new hatchlings and everything.”

“They were killed, if you must know. Haven't been able to find any good ones since these two lovelies.” To all of our distastes, he motions to Dirk and I. To even more of our disgust, he adds, “What else would you expect of the pure-bred Strider line? Of my little brothers?”

Repulsed, Dirk takes a daring step forward with venom in his whisper. “Yeah, brothers. That's exactly the word you would use to describe us.”

Roxy hops in for some odd reason, that mysteriously giddy tone about herself again. I don't trust her whenever she’s like this. Any other day, she would treat this scumbag exactly for what he is, but for now, she's wiping off the pristine welcome mat. “You must ignore him. He woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

His laugh is the most terrible sound I've ever heard throughout all of the years of my long long undead life. Worse than the sound of fingernails on chalkboards and babies crying on the crowded subway, the sound pierces my ears and I resist the urge to shove that hat of his down his throat, or up his ass, seeing as there really is no difference between the two. “I can't imagine how any fellow could wake up on the wrong side of the bed when you're there.”

_ Oh god, he did not. _

Bro the most horrible creature from down under (and I don't mean Australia because that place is pretty chill) has begun a long strand of one-sided flirts with a literal angel. That's worse than being in a teacher’s conference with your mother and realizing that your teacher is hitting on her, even if that's completely unprofessional and she's way out of his league. And then, your dad is also sitting next to you and he's about to put one of the nearby thumb pins through the guy. Then hours later, when the police are asking you all of those dumbass questions on why exactly your father straight out murdered the guy, you're defending your father since your teacher was a complete douche anyways and maybe now that he's dead, you could easily bump your grade up from a F to an A by riding the subs coat tail for the rest of the year.

Jade grabs Dirk’s elbow before he could make that police investigation a real thing, although there wouldn't be any evidence left. Roxy eyes her truly beloved as she truly wounds him by wrapping Bro’s arm around her shoulders in order to support him. “Well, seeing as you're waking up with the fishes usually when you do see me, they're really not that pleasant.”

He chuckles, shaking his head and giving his comment to Dirk. “Good looks and a fine sense of humor? You've got yourself a folk killer here.”

Roxy fills even this Strider with terror when she replies for Dirk, her voice small yet deadly. It's as if the shadows attached  their silky fingers to her small frame as she spoke her own style of threatening. “You have no idea.” 

Bro isn't even fazed by the spookiness of Roxy’s words or the literal fact that the whole room became ice cold and that it felt as if your very soul was quivering in fear at something you couldn't comprehend. No, instead, the stupid bastard grins, amused by the action.

Roxy, in turn, looks to Dirk as they hold a short mental conversation that was probably something to the effect of whether or not to help that asshat. 

Dirk takes one glance at the trail of rust red blood in disdain. “We’ll take care of Derek. You two, just clean up this mess before anyone notices.”

Jade and I are left to stare at each other as Roxy carries him up the stairs, refusing to accept Dirk’s help. Knowing him, he would break down upon the simple poke from Bro’s ghastly finger. Roxy must've known this and simply refused to allow such a cool guy such as himself embarrass himself as such. Then again, I'm no mind reader and their emotions, as always, don't help me out much. Dirk feels queasy, for the most part, and then partly revengeful, as if he could easily shatter the life that did so to his own. Roxy seems calm and collected on the outside, but there seems to be an underlying cause for her actions or her cautious tone and instinctive intuitions. As always, Bro is impossible to read. Seeing someone’s emotions is like being told where to fish and given a fishing rod. When you arrive at previously said place and discover that you weren't given any bait, you begin to question how you'll ever catch any fish to feed your family or what the person who gave the rod to you was even thinking since they clearly didn't plan on you needing to catch the fish. 

_ Never mind that.  _ One can only wonder about the reason of things for only so long before getting bored and tossing any metaphorical fishing rod away. Besides, we were given three jobs, and the other two, staying out of sight and keeping John above the radar, were only accomplishable if we cleaned up this fucking mess first. 

Jade places the scalding hot, soapy water on the floor before discarding both the mop and washcloths that she had thrown over her shoulder. While I lived in La La Land, my mystical home of whose arms I unadmittedly find myself embraced in like a baby in a swaddle whenever even the ironic tone of the situation seems amiss, Jade began to set to work. 

“It's bleach, right?” She asks, dipping a washcloth into the magical solution. 

“I think so, but how would I know really? You act like cleaning up blood is something I do often.” I respond, grabbing the mop and following her actions.

“I mean, seeing as it is your main course of meal…” She doesn't wring the sopping wet towel out and instead carries it to our banister to lavish the poor soiled thing in medicine. 

“Ouch, Jade, I am again offended. Can we please pause to take a moment and think about how many times you have offended me in this day alone? It's like I'm the ridiculously cool street kitten that's beginning to learn the ropes of living on my own and you're the barking dog that is always overstepping your territory and snacking on my bomb trash meals.” Push and pull, push and pull, the scrubbing motions I make as I begin to purify the defiled wood floor. 

She chuckles, shaking her head as if she were the cool one. 

_ Jade Harley, cool and collected. She rocks the treacherous halls of highschool with her slick leather jacket and kickass guitar solos. She swoons all of the boys with just a flash of her cheeky smile, except for one. Dave Strider, the boy who is too involved in his school work to ever bother with such a pretense of a female such as Jade fucking Harley, with all of the fucking of course since that's just how many boys her milkshakes bring to the yard. Dave tries to overlook it, at first, but as she rides into the sunlight on her black motorcycle, he feels the slight flutter of his heart. He refuses to believe his feelings for the sexy harlot at first, and then he realizes that he didn't have a date to prom. _

“Thanks, Dave, but doesn't that seem a little reverse to you?” She giggles as she begins scrubbing the floor. 

“What do you mean? A cutie such as yourself would never not have a date to prom.” I continue to scrub away on the floor with the mop while Jade finishes up with the doorway. 

“Dave, I was a teenager in the what? The 19th century? I didn't even have a prom.” She responds, standing back to admire her sparkling handy work. She didn’t sound sad as she spoke, more just a matter of fact thing. 

“You youngen’s and your unappreciation for the good stuff in life.” I grin, just about done with purging the floor.

She sniggers, “Oh yeah, and your London balls were meak compared to the super formal proms of today.”

“Well, yeah. Actually-”

Crash!

The loud clattering sends both of us running up the stairs. Dirk and Roxy are arguing loudly, as if keeping any of this on the DL wasn’t even an option. 

“I understand what he did to you all those times! I know who left all those marks! I get why you have your issues with him, but Dirk, I’m sorry. I can’t let you get revenge on him. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because I know you’ll never be happy with yourself if you do what you want to. You know that you’ll just become the monster he is!” Roxy folds her arms as her wings spread out, protectively hiding the leviathan. Dirk stands up from his position within the crumbled bookshelf that seemed to have been shattered like mere glass, brushing splinters of wood and dust off of himself. He glances over at us, the incoming gallery, and opens his mouth to raise his voice again, but decides against it, loyalty filling his mind. Besides, he’s interrupted by something else. 

“Wow, what a show. And these feathers? A thousand percent authentic. However, I do see something wrong with such a scene. A gentleman such as myself knows that I’ve taught you better than to leave a man without a drink. Now, where’s the hospitality in that?” Roxy shivers away from his touch when Bro’s words enter my ears without welcome. 

Dirk grabs her by the wrist and yanks her out of the reach of Bro’s grubby little hands. “Of course, and where is the hospitality in wanting to make the guest scream bloody murder? Oh, wait, that was never really in your book of manners, was it? Suppose you were too above the idea to even consider writing it down.” 

Bro cackles in response. “Oh, Dirk, you sure know how to aim below the belt, don’t you? I’m being quite serious though. My option for snacking is scarce and I am feeling a bit… Parched.”

Dirk groans. “Fine, I need a break from your company anyways. Hope you like wet bag.” He pushes past us and out the door.

Roxy eyes the two of us as she leads Derek back into a chair. At this point, we have a nice clear view of him, as if anyone would ever want to place their eyes on such a disgraceful creature. Bro’s orange eyes twinkle like a black cat’s on Friday the thirteenth as he makes the wooden chair his throne. His bare, white skin is blinding compared to Roxy’s sweet disposition. He is that creepy porcelain doll that your grandmother has had for years and you dread spending the night at her house for every time its glassy eyes penetrate your soul and your well being. To say in the least, it creeps you out more than you want to admit. However, looking closer, this doll has been cracked, bitten. The perfect crescent arches across the side of his chest and stretches with every breath he takes. The gooey liquid slowly oozes out of it, and by the looks of the bloodied towels and gauze that surround the floor, it hasn’t stopped.

“So, am I going to be introduced to your new gal pal or are you just going to haunt the halls from now on?” 

I grit my teeth at the inquiry and pull Jade closer to me, a smug, determined tilt in my face. “This sweet thang’s name shall never be tainted by the likes of your crooked mouth.”

The nights spent wondering if the doll could ever move are wasted as the crooked voice slips out of its raspy throat. “That sweet thang’s beauty is already ruined by the scent of a mutt. Any lowly creature would dare to imagine it to be called out by such a perfect being.”

“That thang does have a name, and while it does not prefer being referred as such, I appreciate the thought. The name’s Jade and if you ever think I’ll come howling to you, then you’re going to be suffering from more than that graze.” 

“Oh, dear, David always did have the hankering for those with all bark and no bite. I admire the sass though, Jade dear. It’s what keeps these old bones entertained.” He flinches underneath Roxy’s once careful hand. She may not have allowed Dirk to suffer his revenge, but she served it herself as she took poor care in treating Bro.  _ This is why I knew I liked her. _

Dirk staggers past us and back into the room, tossing the frosted blood packets unto the devil spawn’s lap. 

Bro’s face scrunches up noticeably, and he doesn’t bother to fix it. He acts like a goddamn prince despite his murderous and selfish tendencies. “Thanks a bunch.”

“Well, seeing as this town is our territory, you’re welcome.” Dirk’s dimples are revealed as he relishes in the discomfort of his torturer. Sounds adorable, but they’re secretly terrifying. His dimples are just something that you’re not supposed to see and if you do, you’re on the wrong side of the battlefield and about to meet your unfortunate end. They’re like the siren’s sweet call beckoning to the sailors to come drown themselves, except they’re dimples and it means that he’s welcoming himself to be buried within you or burying you, either one. 

He raises his eyebrow at me as his twisted smirk fades. “That’s an interesting analogy, though I do suppose everyone else prefers the siren’s call.” Everyone understands his comment, except for Bro, of course, but the mind reading cycle is just about complete. Jade giggles at my mental antics while Dirk rolls his eyes and Roxy is entertained. Of course, it isn’t really a cycle since if it started with Roxy, no one would really know what she thought unless she allowed Dirk to listen in and then we’re all left out of the loop. Sometimes I think this mental stuff goes too fucking far. 

Roxy’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree, and the reverse of the cycle as previously mentioned has occurred. “You’re right, Dirk! These two should go put away all the cleaning supplies and keep their eyes on everybody else.”

Any attempt to argue or protest at not wanting to leave even these two alone in a room with the fuckass would have been futile. Like Karkat shouting curses to the wind, no one would bother to listen. So I do the classic teenage thing and roll my eyes before sashaying out of the room with Jade on my heels like a fucking posey.  _ On Wednesdays, we kill assholes… Like yourself. _

‘Better start running or you're going to receive more than just the bark.’

‘Oh, God, that was such a douchebag move up there. I just want to see how many more cracks I can put in that porcelain skin of his.’

We reach the bottom of the states and pick up the supplies that are scattered around. Relying on our mental link to keep us entertained and hidden, we snuck past the living room, glancing in slightly at the nerds who worked without stop.

‘You know,’ Jade starts, carefully placing the now empty bucket and mop down in the cleaning supply closet. ‘He’s not that much different from you and Dirk. He's got that douchebag charm and cocky disposition. He doesn't even really seem as bad as you made him out to be.’

I'm not surprised by this. I wish I was, but I'm not. At one point, I was just as fooled by him like everyone else, his charming smile, his humor, his laugh, the welcoming warmth in his eyes. It's hard to not fall for his act until you don't see it. That's when the world he’s created, the mirage in which he lives begins to fall away, exposing the sad, pathetic creature that lies in wait for the comfort of others, the equivalent of the spider who spins its web in the hopes of the harm to others. 

***

Against the suddenly harsh light, I had refused to open my eyes. There was a soft pounding in my head that I had never felt before. I had known it was there, my joints and just about everything aching, but I wasn't all there. I could barely feel the prickling of my toes and the twitching of my fingers with myself closed off from the world, my mind in some cloud paradise where I laid my head amongst the sheep and allowed to float softly across the metaphorical sky.

I had a brief memory of waking up previously to the cellar floor, Dirk laying beside me in the dark, shaking his shoulders, and begging him to wake up. The words “Go back to sleep” floated around in my head and probably for the fifth time, I was planning on listening to the command.

The hand on my shoulder had pulled me out of the trance like ice cold rain on a summer day in the dry desert, like the sweet embrace of an ice bath after a long match. I wished I could say that I had opened my eyes with a slight flutter, the way confident men and beautiful women gracefully stir, but no. I kicked and I punched, the scream that was left on my tongue from before I slept finding its way out of my vocal cords. I forced myself backwards after my fist connected with something hard and ice cold. Eyes wide and startled, I stared at the perfect being that sat now ten feet away from me.

“Dammit, Dave.” He gritted his teeth as he rubbed his chin, the red blood beginning to find its way out of the corner of his smirk. His blond hair waved gently against his forehead, a single ruffle not threatening to even touch it. His faded clementine eyes had turned bright tangerine orange and his complexion was creamy white, so perfect that even the freckles that were scattered on his face had to have been strategically placed. We were studs before, but now staring down at my brother who looks nothing and everything like my brother, he was sure to have been a lady killer.

I looked down at my own hands, the same creamy look to them as Dirk’s. A sob suddenly caught in my throat as my vision blurred, a sudden wave of pain enveloping my body and pulling me out to sea. I heard Dirk again rushing to my side, but I was too far away to bother with telling him that I was okay, even though I was far from that as well. I wanted to scream, to tear my own throat out when no sound came. I wanted to curl up in a ball, to wallow in pain that I had never felt before. I wanted to die, to allow myself to slip into a peaceful bliss away from this world of white noises and red pains. 

“Dave, Dave, it's okay. You're okay. I know it hurts like hell, but you’re okay.” He grunted. I realized that he had a hold of my wrists, preventing the actions of what would have put me into paradise. I also realized that it was straining him, that he could no longer hold me in place with his own brute strength. Through the blur of tears, I noticed his head turn slightly at the sound of something. More urgently now, he looked me in the eyes. “Dave, stop crying. Promise me you won't cry.”

The tears ceased to flow. I hadn't chosen to stop, but I did. Dirk reached up to wipe the wet spots off of my cheeks, a serious way about him that I had only seen in the presence of other nobles. “I promise.” The words were ripped out of my throat with a silky, smooth voice that I had not heard in awhile. It did not squeak or wane, but instead, was melodic.

That was when he had entered the room, the same orange eyes and blonde hair that he looked more like my brother than I did. The way he held his shoulders and how he stood on the balls of his feet, anyone would have thought they were twins, but I could tell the difference. His freckles were less frequent, and his muscles way more defined. When he began to speak, his deep voice pushed me to stay rooted where I stood as a chilling shiver was sent down my aching spine. “David, it is a pleasure to finally see you again. You were a tiny little thing when I saw you last.” Time seemed to blur as he walked up to us, there in a split second. He reached up to wipe the blood off of Dirk’s mouth. Dirk stiffened at his touch, but not quite moving. “You're stronger than I thought too.”

He held out his hand and pulled me onto my feet. Hot, sticky liquid filled my mouth as I clenched my teeth at the shooting pain that got worse by simply standing. The world swirled around me and I struggled to keep my footing. Dirk found his way by my side immediately, wrapping his arm around my waist. I didn't cry.

“Damn.” The duplicate grinned. “You damn near bit a hole in your lip. David, you've got to be more careful.” Despite his cool collection, there was a sense about him that he was holding himself back. I noticed that Dirk had his mouth in a snarl, even if no noise escaped his lips. 

 

The next few weeks were spent in the same way, with Bro leading me and laughing as I stumbled while Dirk stood protectively at a distance. He taught me how to handle myself and my new body, about the vampiric underground world that had truly ruled England, and even how to successfully pick up chicks. While Dirk had been disgusted at what we had become and refused to take a single sip out of the ebony necks of love stricken girls, I embraced the life, remembering the approving smile Bro had given me when the warm and tart liquid had finally found its way into my mouth. I had adored my newfound older brother, Derek. He was also fond of me, greeting me with the sweet smile of his. Being twelve years older than myself, Mom and Dad had kicked him out of the house when I was around two or three due to his corruptive nature with the ladies. He laughed when I told him about Dirk and my own escapades. I had generally enjoyed his company and thought he was a  _ real  _ gentleman. All the while, I never noticed how Dirk never looked him in the eye, how he staggered backwards or froze at Derek’s touch. He had known the true horrors of this monster his whole life, and I was not to find out till later. The full extents of the abuse and the real reason he was kicked out was not revealed until years afterwards.

***

The soft passion of her lips brushes against my own, forcing my mind on other things. I follow her lead, distraught in my own thoughts. Jade stops kissing me, still in the embrace that had somehow happened with her forehead against my own. Her green emerald eyes suck in the dark of my shades and her hot breath in the close proximity (while always much less pleasant for others of the vampiric kind) begins to fog up my view. Jade does this sometimes, when she has no words of comfort or anger or when she knows her response wouldn't be good enough for the situation. This is her empathy, her  _ I know… I'm sorry…  _ I suppose I can't blame her and actually appreciate this approach. Her gentle compassion could cause any blue heart to suddenly light once again and burn for as long as her flaming fuel is near. 

‘Hey Jade?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Remember when we first met?’ I watch as the fire within brings an intense heat to her cheeks about a tale for another time.

‘Of course. How could I forget?’ 

‘The reason you let me live was the exact reason why I needed to get out, away from him.’

‘Dave, I appreciate the thought, but don't you think our situations are a little bit more different than you think?’ Her lips purse into a pout, her version of gently trying to correct someone. As if being a rabbit fighting a lion would in any way soften the blow of the mighty lion, no longer king of the fucking jungle. No, it was now the bunny that ruled. All hail the mighty Bunny. All hail.

‘With what they did to you? Hell no.’ I press my own mouth to hers, ensuring the long, deep kiss that is exactly what is needed in a moment like this. Not one of those brief pecks that are either fake or a brief reminder of what you have or what you could be doing at the current moment, but a deep long one that would make parents shield their child’s eyes in horror as we embrace each other, the only two in our known universe, clutching onto each other as if we were each other’s only existence.

_ Or not. _

Jade pushes away from me immediately. I try not to remind myself of her earlier comparison to Eridan since I'm neither as desperate as he is or as much of a loser. I'm absolutely certain that I failed. ‘Jade.’

‘Shush.’

‘Mind talk, no one can hear us.’

‘No, I know… But do you hear that?’

I quiet myself, listening in on what Jade was hearing, the muffled whimpering, heavy breathing, and a sudden crunching noise. She reached the conclusion sooner than I did.

_ Roxy. _

The cleaning supplies are forgotten (if they weren’t already…) as we pound up the stairs. Our entrance into the room was greeted with a unpleasant sight. Two blood bags lay on the floor, the smashed one no doubt having caused the spattered blood that littered one spot of the wall. Dirk sits crouched on the floor, his hand covering his mouth as he leans over Roxy, the golden ichor starting to pool underneath her. Dirk looks up when he realizes we’re there.

“I left her alone with him. She told me she would be fine, that an unholy beast such as Derek would sizzle upon touching her heavenly skin.” He chuckles quietly at the thought, but stops when he sees the concern in our eyes. “She's alive. It takes more to kill her, but.” He stands up and slams his hand on the wall, a new hole forming in our already battered house. The sudden frustration imminent. Dirk is a ticking time bomb. Usually, he can keep his cool, but sometimes… “He caught Roxy by her fucking jacket and then gave her an uppercut to the jaw. The bastard went and smashed her head against the wall for good reason… And…” He glanced at the puncture wounds on the side of her neck, his raised voice falling to his normal silence.

“Now, he’s unstoppable.” I finish his sentence, following his train of thought. It’s obvious that angel blood has its own magical properties, but to a vampire whose power is absorbing the strengths of those whose blood he drinks? He could do anything, though I'll be honest when I say that I have no clue what strengths Bro could absorb. The wings? The sarcasm? The whole badass attitude that comes with the role?

“Thanks, Dave. Rub it in my face, why don't you?” Dirk grunts, leaning down to brush the fallen hair out of Roxy’s face.

“You're welcome. Maybe you shouldn't have left her alone.”

“Tell me-”

Jade interrupts Dirk’s comeback with urgency. “I think that ancient testosterone is clouding your view. Look, Dirk, it was an accident. Don't blame yourself and make it up to Roxy by taking care of her. Don't worry about Derek. We’ll find him.” After rushing through her words of her one-sided conversation, she grabs my hand and drags me out of the room. I look back to see the gratitude begin to take form on his lips before Jade closes the door gently.

‘Alright, so John and Rose-’ she begins.

‘Will be fine. Rose knows enough protective spells that if it came to it, they could survive until we show up. My concern is more of the ichor that is now running through his system. How are we-’

‘Going to find a vampire that took a nibble to discourage us from chasing him? He didn't get much. If anything, he’s a little bit faster or stronger, but he isn't any smarter. We can still corner him.’ Jade explains, showing her own mental diagram of the situation. Derek had waited a couple of moments for Dirk to get far enough and then struck as quickly as he could, placing his teeth on Roxy’s neck briefly to cause Dirk to flashback to his own situation and then fall apart emotionally as he had when he was younger. 

‘Jade, you're a-’

‘Not a genius. Don't call hunting that, it's the obvious answer to catch your prey.’ She begins tiptoeing quickly down the stairs, her long black hair swaying behind her. I follow her lead.

‘Who’s the prey?’

‘I don't think he stumbled past us by accident or that Jake caught him by his choice. I think he was distracted by John’s aura. We’ve all noticed it, that kid is something real special.’ She adds as I give her that look that says it all.  _ Really? John Egbert? _

‘Anyways, I've noticed that he likes surrounding himself by powerful beings and then leaching off of them. For example, Dirk has a power that I’ve never even heard of an equivalent to. And you? Your speed and strength is better than most. Derek felt the strength of John’s aura and began to plan doing the same thing to him that he did to you two. This distraction left him open to Jake, which gave him an even bigger opening to get to this powerful being, but we answered the door instead.’

‘So do we keep an eye on John or do we not keep an eye on John?’ I ask, as we rush through the extents of the house, searching for satan’s favorite little spawn.

‘Like you said, Rose should be able to hold him off long enough. On the other hand, I sort of want to use him to set a trap, but I'm not sure how that would go over.’

I pause to understand this, stopping on the shore of the lake that we had almost ran past. The others are in hiding right now, a feeling that something was off, or that's so I hope. Even Eridan’s scales littering the pleasant lakeshore would cause some serious heart throbbing for somebody (that, of course, isn’t me). ‘No, I don't think-’ 

Jade growls as she tears off in her sudden new form. My eyes catch on the small blur that she somehow spotted, the white figure disappearing into the woods. I follow.

Fifteen, twenty minutes later, Jade and I stand where we started on the outskirts of the overgrowth, unable to find him during that time. She eyes me in her human form, having turned back since it's easier for her to think this way. “How did he outrun us?”

I shrug in defeat. We should still be looking, but we were so close and he probably slipped out as soon as we had entered. We were playing the fool, as if we were the genius who was trying to find the needle in the haystack. The idiot picked up the needle and had mistaken it for another piece of hay, tossing it back into the pile and only realizing that he had found the fucking thing before he let it slip through his fingers. “I don't know…”

She pauses, her head tilted to the side as she listens. “Roxy’s up. She's not happy about Dirk leaving us here.”

“She acts too much like our mother, I swear.” I comment, kicking the dirt at my feet before taking a step forward with the intent of reporting our failure and watching the disappointment spread across their faces.

_ Rose left him.  _

_ Jade springs through the air immediately, landing once again on her four paws. Moving without thinking, she follows the path to the kitchen. She distinctly hears Roxy freaking out to Rose as she enters the room. The emerald green eyes narrowing as Jade pounces for Derek, not caring for John who was right in the way. She catches him by the throat so perfectly and scoops him up, dangling him in the air like an oversized and abused dog toy. John’s crystal blue eyes widening in horror at the backlash of being thrown to the ground and staring up at the white beast in front of him. Roxy and Rose skid into the room, freezing at the scene in front of them. No doubt, Jade had taken up most of the room. Sure, the kitchen had two entrances, but that didn't make it big enough for a large wolf. _

After watching through Jade’s eyes for the three second I missed, Dirk and I enter at the same time. I'm on the side where Jade covers my view and he stumbles into Roxy and Rose. I glance at John, who sits on the floor, reason and logic obviously thrown over his shoulder and into the corner as he watches the scene carefully, unmoving, not breathing, and not screaming in absolute terror. I don't think twice about him when I realize the position that Jade is in, the fucking life-threatening advantage she has over this son of a bitch (sorry Mom) that ruined both my and Dirk’s lives, who gave my brother all those scars and caused the turmoil that would separate us time and time again. With this realization, I could only think of one possibility to the end of how this life-changing plot twist could ever end in.

_ Snap his neck, Jade. Make him suffer. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, how I do love me some vulnerable Striders. Alright, so reflection on this chapter... First of all, this is the longest one I've ever written, filling over 9,000 words into the span of fifteen pages and I even left out a couple of flashbacks, including Dave and Jade's introduction story. Second of all, graced with Dave's sarcasm and ironic overexplanations, this is probably my favorite chapter that I've written so far. As to whether or not there will be a chapter in the future that surpasses this one? I would hope so... Third of all, can we all just please take a moment to admire how much Jade just kicks butt in this chapter? I mean, seriously... Not to mention, there are a handful of hints towards Jade's own backstory chapter that's in the near future. Okay, aside from the pride I have in this chapter, let's talk about updates. This chapter probably took waaaaaaaaay too long, and looking at my schedule ahead of me, I have no clue when I'll be able to fit in time for writing. Despite the fact that I'm starting my junior year of high school this Thursday, I'm going to assure both you and myself that I will have time and will eventually get the next chapter out, which spoiler, will be in Dirk's perspective. I wish all of you who are starting school good luck and all of you that have procrastinated on their summer homework even more luck. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I have enjoyed writing. And with my usual ending to these waaaaaaaay too long author's notes, thanks you much for reading and have a great day!
> 
> Actually, quick edit. There will have to be a pause on this Strider drama since I do believe Jade is about due for her own chapter again. Sorry about that, but it'll be enjoyable! ^-^


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